Re:Broken
by rozukitsune
Summary: A new enemy is trying to break Sakura's spirit in order to weaken her enough to steal her cards from her. Everyone around her seems to be turning cruel... and the only solace she can find is in the arms of the man she never expected.
1. How to measure self worth

Re-Broken

Disclaimer: I love CCS... but I don't own it. :( Oh, and I don't own Phantom of the Opera either.

---- A change in writing style/time/place/whatever (will notate in () which one if necessary)

Rating: T - for language

Summary: A new enemy is trying to break Sakura's spirit in order to weaken her enough to steal her cards from her. Everyone around her seems to be turning cruel... and the only solace she can find is in the arms of the man she never expected.

Pairings: Syaoran/Sakura, Sakura/Eriol

AN: Alrighty, I just can't resist writing an alternate ending to this.

(Begins after Chapter 7 - from Broken, so go back and read it if you don't remember.)

----

(Chapter 8.5: How to measure self-worth)

Eriol sat in his study for hours. Having been unable to sleep after the most recent events, he had eventually given up on it entirely and gone back to meditate some more on the future.

As of late, his usual ability to see the future as clear as day had begun to waver. He knew that this was partially because he was loosing his control over Clow's power. Like Sakura, he knew he would soon have to begin a new contract with his staff that drew from his own inner power, whatever it was. He had been waiting patiently for so long for this to happen... to finally be reconnected with his childhood self that had been sealed to make room for his previous incarnations memories and drive.

It wasn't all that bad, he had simply grown up faster than most, it had been necessary, and his other self understood that. Or at least, Eriol believed that he did... the things he'd been seeing however, made him less certain of the state of his other half.

Eriol sighed as he watched the swirling clouds. He had chosen the scents that would pertain to romance... as his future with the girl currently sleeping in one of his spare bedrooms was the most curious thing happening to him at the moment, but the smoke was not cooperating in the least. He still read in it the same things he'd been reading in it for the past few months since before he had returned to Tomoeda. He could feel it radiating with him...

Darkness, betrayal, destruction, loss. Fear, uncertainty, evil.

It infuriated him that he couldn't see more... it would be nice if he knew how deep the darkness went, or who was going to be betrayed. Whether loss meant death or change...

He thought about the recent happenings... well, it did appear that Syaoran had betrayed Sakura, that she had lost him to whatever battle was going on inside the thick skull of his descendant. Perhaps that was a part of what the meaning behind what he was seeing. He hoped fervently that the loss would end with Syaoran's betrayal, mostly because he'd hate to think of himself doing such a thing to the mistress of the cards, whom he had always secretly loved.

He had been telling Syaoran the truth, of course. The previous day when the youth had challenged him, that whichever of them was -stronger- had nothing to do with which of them would get Sakura in the end. It would be Sakura's decision of course... but girls tended to be swayed by those who gave them their heart. And all signs currently suggested that his would be the stronger one.

He sighed, in the past of course he'd had a minor inkling that this might happen... Clow had sent him to Sakura with the full intention that he would inevitably be the one to win her heart. Then Syaoran had shown up and proven himself to be a man of upstanding moral fiber. If he would just stop rushing into things once in a while he might have gotten a lot farther, then again, without the hindsight Eriol had from living a whole life prior to this one... he could understand why it was the brunet was so frustrated all of the time. It took some guts to stand up to him, even if the kid had been doing it for the wrong reasons. Eriol may no longer have any control over what the future would bring... but he would still be incredibly difficult to take down by any means.

Syaoran, however, had a huge weakness... he had no idea what he was doing, nor what he was up against. At least Eriol had one out of two. Knowing what you were doing was three fourths of the battle. Sakura had won nearly all of the ones she'd ever fought... though her winning streak had more to do with beginners luck and sheer determination rather than actual know-how, at least at the beginning. Eriol supposed Syaoran had that as well, to some extent... but for a young man who would never have the power of the cards at their disposal... the chinese boy was at a distinct disadvantage.

Eriol thought about this for a few more moments before there was a soft knock at the door.

Curious, he turned towards it. Normally his guardians knew better than to interrupt him while he was meditating, but there was always an exception to the rule. Like an emergency.

"Come in."

Or Sakura...

He'd almost completely forgotten what he was doing in the midst of all his thoughts and blushed slightly, the previous evening still fresh in his mind. Clearly, it hadn't left Sakura's either, because her face was beet red as well.

"Um... sorry" she stammered, gesturing to the incense that was now escaping the room.

Eriol smiled, "Not at all... what can I do for you?"

Sakura shifted uneasily on her feet. "Well, you've been in here a long time, and I was kind of hoping to talk to you about... last night."

Eriol flushed and turned away from her. "I think it best if we drop it for now."

"You don't like me."

It wasn't a question, and the alarming certainty of the comment made him spin back around to face her in surprise. "Sakura-chan... that's hardly the case."

Sakura sniffed, tears beading at the corners of her eyes. "Then why have you been avoiding me all day?"

Eriol rose to his feet and shook his head, reaching forward to squeeze her shoulder gently. "I haven't been avoiding you Sakura... I just thought you might need some space after what happened. Loneliness is the worst sort of feeling, and at it's height it can sometimes make you believe things that might not necessarily be true. Like... liking me, for instance."

"But I _do_ like you!" She insisted immediately.

He stopped her from continuing by placing his fingers over her mouth. "Hush, that's not what I meant." He removed his hand and smiled, carefully reaching up to brush a stray lock of auburn hair behind her ear.

"Sakura, you have spent a long time loving Syaoran-kun." Eriol began gently. Sakura flinched and pulled away at the sound of Li's name. "What has it been? Four? Five years since I last saw you? You're no little girl anymore... you're sixteen years old! And quite lovely, might I add." Sakura blushed.

"The teenage years are the most difficult as far as the trials in the matter of the heart are concerned. When you are young you believe true love is everywhere... in any one. And when you get your first crush you believe it will end your life if you lose that person. I know how it is, Sakura... I've done it all once before. You have only just recently lost Syaoran, and your heart is aching for some kind of release. Right now, I'm the most convenient person, but if you act on the impulse to just throw yourself into my arms... " Eriol paused, trying to think of how to phrase what he was about to say correctly.

"If you do that, Sakura... you may wake up tomorrow and find that you regret not waiting to see if Syaoran came back for you after all."

Sakura blinked, "But... why should I care about what he does? He doesn't care about me anymore!"

Eriol sighed, "It may appear that way... in the six or seven years you've known him and fallen in love, you two have never once had any kind of quarrel. But are you really going to just give him up after only a day? When you've spent so long together?"

Sakura thought about that for a couple of moments. "I... I guess not. Well, in the past, when he left to go home... he only ever left for a week. So, if he's not back in a week... can I give up on him then?" she asked curiously.

Eriol shrugged, "Your rebound time is for you to figure out Sakura... it might be a day, a week, a month, or even a year. When you can be sure that your feelings for me are real, and not spring-loaded by your current hatred of Syaoran... then we can talk about this again." he warned.

Sakura shrunk in defeat. "Alright Eriol. But, for the record... you do like me, right?" she asked hopefully.

Eriol smiled, "For the record... yes, I like you very much Sakura-chan."

----

**Muahaha... Ah, how I have missed doing this.**

**And yes, as it says above, this is an alternate ending... and as defined by me... that means it will not end the same way the other one did. **

**You go ahead and figure out what that means. XD**

**`Rozu**


	2. Tomoyo, why?

Re-Broken

Disclaimer: I love CCS... but I don't own it. :( Oh, and I don't own Phantom of the Opera either.

---- A change in writing style/time/place/whatever (will notate in () which one if necessary)

Rating: T - for language

Summary: A new enemy is trying to break Sakura's spirit in order to weaken her enough to steal her cards from her. Everyone around her seems to be turning cruel... and the only solace she can find is in the arms of the man she never expected.

Pairings: Syaoran/Sakura, Sakura/Eriol

----

(Chapter 9.5: Tomoyo, why?)

Days passed and Sakura seemed to be on her best behavior. The sinking feeling Eriol had been having lately regarding their relationship had ebbed a bit... but he still wasn't sure why he was feeling so uneasy about the whole thing. There was something off, something wrong. He just couldn't put his finger on it. And it didn't help when Daidouji started acting up as well.

Sakura came crying to him at lunch, giving him a strange sense of déjà vu, and began complaining that, as if things weren't bad enough already, now her best friend was treating her like crap too!

This only served to solidify Eriol's suspicions, but it still didn't give him any answers. What was _wrong_ with everyone all the sudden? Ok, well, everyone was kind of an overstatement. Most people seemed to be acting normal enough. When Touya had finally come down to visit the house, he had immediately demanded an explanation as to Sakura's mood. Eriol was the only one capable of speech, since Sakura had run straight into his arms sobbing the minute he had stepped through the door.

He faced Touya's death glare for the first time, and was secretly glad it wasn't him that the older male was angry with. Yue... or rather Yukito, glanced at Eriol with clouded gray eyes that spoke volumes.

"I knew it!" Touya fumed in an outrage. "I knew that little twerp was no good!"He stomped about the house like some kind of angry dragon. Sakura found it funny in an ironic way... that he had always called her the monster, but now he was the one acting like Godzilla. This earned him a strained chuckle from her, in spite of herself, which Touya completely misunderstood and just blew up some more about how someone (preferably him) should go to Hong Kong and teach the Chinese brat a thing or two about breaking his sister's heart.

Later on, he sat on the roof with Yue, the moon guardian. They sat together in an uneasy silence.

"So... what now?" The white-haired angel asked quietly, obviously worried about his master.

Eriol shrugged. "Now we wait."

"You think that something is up." It wasn't a question.

"Yes."

Angry silver eyes glared at him, "Then why aren't you doing anything about it, Clow!"

Eriol rolled his eyes, "Yue, how many times do I have to tell you, I'm not Clow?"

Yue growled, "You might as well be... and if anyone could do something about this, it would be him... you!"

Eriol sighed, "I'm not the person you think I am, Yue. Not anymore. I have been losing him for a long time."

Yue sat back in shock. "Clow is... leaving?" it didn't make any sense.

"Clow has been dead for centuries, Yue. It's just like what happened to Sakura. Soon I will be unable to bring his power back at all." Eriol explained.

"So that's why you don't Know..." Yue muttered.

"Yes. That's why I can't See." Eriol agreed.

"What a fine time for that to happen..." Yue grumbled, then sighed. "What will you do? It's not like you can reseal the cards under your new name, they belong to Sakura now."

"I know... there are other kinds of magic in the world. I've been thinking that I'd go and do a bit of studying and master a few new arts to keep on top of my game. But lately I haven't had much time for study and practice. Sakura is taking up all of my time."

Yue glanced at him sharply, "Sakura is?"

Eriol nodded.

"Is that wise?" Yue asked curiously.

Eriol shrugged, "I don't Know everything anymore... only time will tell what is to come. As for me... I am more like you. My purpose is to make her happy, if I am needed to do so. You failed because your other half fell in love with her brother, but I have no such problems with other halves..."

The odd pause in the sentence drew Yue's attention again. "Eriol?"

The dark mage stared out into the night air, thinking quietly. "At least... I don't think I will." he said finally.

"What do you mean?"

Eriol drew out the sun staff and stared at it. "It's almost time... the seal will break soon."

Yue blinked. "What seal?"

Eriol frowned vaguely. "The seal on my youth."

"Your... youth?"

Eriol nodded. "When I was very young, my spirit was torn to make room for Clow's memories and power."

Yue blinked in surprise, then seemed to understand why that must have been necessary. "You were too young to be able to hold all of that power in you at once, and still be whoever it was you were born to be."

"Exactly..." Eriol muttered, staring at the staff. "I mean, this part of me that I have been missing for so long... how is it possible for me to be two different people?"

Yue looked thoughtful. "Well, you wouldn't ever really be two _completely_ different people. Your other self will have a lot of the same personality quirks you already exhibit. The only change would be that you might regress back a few years to relive the childhood you never had... or discover new abilities that you wouldn't have been able to use otherwise"

Eriol smiled, "I'm glad that you were forced to take on a disguise Yue... or I might have been worried about this. It's good to know someone who can set me straight on these matters, as strange as they are."

Yue nodded.

----

A few more days passed and it was apparent that Sakura's best friend no longer wished to have anything to do with her. Eriol had tried to get her alone to knock some sense into her, but everytime he thought he had her cornered, she somehow escaped his grasp.

Sakura was a bundle of nerves as they continued to practice for the upcoming play. It wasn't bad enough that she had lost her childhood love to some strange argument, but now she was loosing her friends too? No matter what he said to her, she began to believe there must be something wrong with her turning all of her friends against her. No one seemed to have time for her anymore and most nights he had to hear her cry herself to sleep in the spare bedroom that she hardly ever left.

It was a week before she told him that her cards had started to go missing.

They had been battling a raging fire demon, which she had managed to put out using The Bubbles, before he had demanded why she hadn't used something more powerful, like Watery, or even Rain. Eventually she admitted that she must have been getting more scatterbrained than usual lately because she simply hadn't been able to find them.

Eriol was beside himself. Someone was taking the Sakura Cards? What gall!

"It's not like anyone but Sakura can use them!" He fumed to Spinel one evening.

"Have you considered that this might all be related somehow?" The guardian cat mused from the orange chair Eriol loved to sit in.

"Of course!" Eriol snapped, this was somehow even getting to him, and he didn't even know most of the people that had begun to turn their noses up at Sakura.

"And?" The cat continued, smugly, amused to see his master so out of control for a change.

"And I keep getting stuck on Syaoran." Eriol said, kicking the base of the chair.

"The Li kid?" The cat asked in surprise. "Why?"

"Because of all people, he should have been the one who stuck by her. And he's STILL not back from Hong Kong! Clearly, I greatly underestimated him..." Eriol grumbled tossing himself into his chair.

"And this can't possibly be part of the same problem because...?"

"Because he's in Hong Kong." Eriol managed, closing his eyes a moment. "I had thought maybe because all of these people are here in Tomoeda that maybe there was some kind of spell on them to make them act this way. But Syaoran is not even HERE!"

"That is perplexing." The cat agreed thoughtfully.

----

**Oh, um... actually Syaoran is currently detained in Hong Kong. Can't learn to be clan leader in a day... right?**

**Oops. XD Bad timing?  
**

**`Rozu  
**


	3. Frustration's Release

Re-Broken

Disclaimer: I love CCS... but I don't own it. :( Oh, and I don't own Phantom of the Opera either.

- A change in writing style/time/place/whatever (will notate in () which one if necessary)

Rating: T

Summary: A new enemy is trying to break Sakura's spirit in order to weaken her enough to steal her cards from her. Everyone around her seems to be turning cruel... and the only solace she can find is in the arms of the man she never expected.

Pairings: Syaoran/Sakura, Sakura/Eriol

AN: Sorry this chapter took so long, I was debating several ways of doing this. XD

AN#2: I have decided to cut this chapter, because a scene near the end was way too awesome to stuff into this chapter... gotta give you something to look forward to ne? XD

(Chapter 10.5: Frustration's release)

"We really need to do something about the re-incarnation of Clow-sama." A redhead muttered in annoyance as her and her counterpart observed the flickering light on their view screen.

The dark-haired man just grinned and shook his head. "Not yet... Clow's seal is almost broken."

"Huh?"

The man waved his hand and the image changed. They were now watching what looked like a sealing circle... Clow's original circle, which appeared to be protecting the young mage in question.

Upon closer inspection, the woman noticed that some of the inscriptions were fading and the lines were getting hazy. "What does it mean?"

"It means that soon, he will be powerless against us... I'd much rather ambush him after it breaks... that way he can't call any of Clow's power against us. That could spell disaster for our plan."

"What makes you think he doesn't have some other trick up his sleeve?" The redhead demanded.

"Oh he does... but he hasn't learned to use it yet, and because of our meddling... he hasn't had the time to figure it out."

"So when we are ready for him... he won't be ready for us."

"Wasn't that a nice way to wrap this up?" He answered with a grin.

"It's like fate is on our side..." She commented in awe.

* * *

"Angel of music, guide and guardian... grant to me all glory." Sakura sang.

"CUT" The drama instructor demanded as Sakura began to continue. She paused, staring at him from her place on the stage.

"That's enough for today." The teacher said in a huff.

"What'd I do that time?" Sakura fretted as Eriol stepped out from behind the false mirror, coming to her side in an instant.

"It's all the stress... it's affecting your acting skills." He explained gently.

"Really?" She asked, almost coming to tears.

He rubbed her shoulders, "Nothing that we can't fix... I'll practice with you later."

* * *

"Come to think of it Eriol... I don't think I've ever seen you practice... and we're in so many scenes together." Sakura muttered thoughtfully as they re-arranged his back porch to make room for their mini rehersal.

Eriol flashed her a sheepish grin. "The teachers don't think I need it. They're not entirely wrong... but I would like to run this through at least once before we actually go on stage with it."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "How come you're so good at everything?" she muttered, exhasporated.

Eriol shrugged and winked at her, "I'm not good at _everything_. The phantom's part just happens to resonate rather closely to me."

Sakura blanched, confused. "But you're nothing like the phantom! You're brave and self-assured, everything you touch is perfect the first time, I bet you could get any girl you wanted... where the phantom is a recluse, shy, angry at the world, can't do anything but write music properly because of his upbringing, and Christine is the only one who has ever been nice to him, so of course he's in love with her!"

Eriol beamed a radiant smile at her, "I had no idea you thought so highly of me... I'm truly touched."

Sakura made a face, "Hmph... you say that like I'm just making it up."

Eriol looked sad for a moment, then shook his head and his smile brightened once more. "Shall we begin?"

"Yes, yes..." she agreed, "which scene?"

"Hmm, how about the one where we were interrupted earlier? Where Christine first meets the phantom?"

"Alright."

Sakura took a deep breath to calm herself, then began to sing. After a few bars Eriol crept up behind her and placed his hands upon her shoulders.

"What?" She asked in annoyance, now having been interrupted twice in the same line.

"Calm down." He replied smoothly, almost whispering in her ear. "Think only of me... of your part. Who are you?"

"Sakura...?"

"No."

"Christine?"

"Right" he agreed. "What is Christine doing right now?"

Sakura's face scrunched up a bit. "Um... wishing to see the phantom?"

"Good... try that."

"Angel, I hear you... speak, I listen. Stay by my side, guide me."

"Better!" Eriol approved, earning a shy smile from the young woman.

"Hey, that's not your line." She admonished, he chuckled and nodded, moving back to his place behind a lawn chair they were pretending was the mirror.

"Flattering child you shall know me, see why in shadows I hide. Look at your face in the mirror, I am there inside!" Eriol sang.

Sakura was stunned, no wonder the teachers wouldn't let him practice with the others! His delivery and projection was perfect... and his voice...

If the other students had heard it they would have been having some serious self-esteem issues by now.

"Sakura?" Eriol prodded, concerned by her silence.

"Huh?" She blinked, coming out of her haze.

"Your line...?" He asked carefully.

"Oh... oh, sorry." Sakura giggled nervously. "It's kind of hard to follow _that_."

"Don't be silly." He grinned "you can do it!"

Flushing underneath his praise she raised her chin.

"Next scene then?"

"The duet?" He confirmed.

She nodded nervously and sang the first verse. He joined her soon afterwards and she immediately stopped thinking about anything but the way their voices sounded together.

_~And do I dream again, for now I find..._

_The phantom of the Opera is there, inside my mind!~_

Into his piano room they took their little duet. It was the only room in the whole house that had stairs in it. It had actually been a basement until Eriol had renovated it for his uses. Now, of course anyone could hold a concert in it, the stairs acting as seats and the stage large enough to hold a full orchestra.

For the time being all that remained onstage was a grand piano which Eriol sat down at, strumming the keys to the last few bars of their song.

Sakura sighed, "You are so talented..." she pouted, plopping down into a nearby chair.

Eriol laughed, "It's easy to be good at everything when you've had more than a lifetime to get it all right" he admitted.

Sakura smiled, "Everything must go so smoothly for you thanks to the fact you have all of Clow's abilities."

Eriol shrugged, "My muscles have memories of things that I've never done... I have dreams about moments that have yet to occur. Sometimes it's a little overwhelming. Especially if you are an impressionable youngster. When I was a child, I thought I might go insane from it all."

Sakura blinked, concerned. "It was that bad?"

The young man smiled tiredly, "I got used to it eventually. Clow helped a lot back then too... he used to visit me in my dreams in spirit-form and explain things to me so that I could understand them."

Sakura leaned against him, "Yeah, I remember when Clow's spirit first talked to me. I felt calm... at peace with my own accomplishments. Capable of doing the things he told me I would have to do."

Eriol blushed as she rested her head into his shoulder and cautiously slid his arm around her to pull her close. They spent a few perfect moments alone before Nakuru burst in with Suppi chasing after her. Suppi was covered in flour and blasting lightning bolts at the fleeing female guardian while she danced down the basement stairs laughing like a maniac.

"Oh boy... I think I'd better intervene before they destroy the whole house." Eriol sighed. Sakura sat up and allowed him to go... but after he'd left the room chasing after them she hugged herself tightly.

_'What am I doing?'_

_

* * *

_

__

**~Rozu**


	4. Shattered Illusions

Re-Broken

Disclaimer: I love CCS... but I don't own it. :( Oh, and I don't own Phantom of the Opera either.

- A change in writing style/time/place/whatever (will notate in () which one if necessary)

Rating: T

Summary: A new enemy is trying to break Sakura's spirit in order to weaken her enough to steal her cards from her. Everyone around her seems to be turning cruel... and the only solace she can find is in the arms of the man she never expected.

Pairings: Syaoran/Sakura, Sakura/Eriol

(Chapter 11.5: Shattered illusions)

The day of the play came at last. Sakura was a nervous wreck as the stagehands tried to get her into her costume. Normally Tomoyo would have been there to console her at a time like this... say something that would calm her nerves, or run a brush through her hair. She missed all of her friends so much... she would have given anything to have them back in her life. Laughing, telling stories... hell, Sakura would have been happy if she could even fight with them again. Shortly after she had finally given up trying to win them back they had all started avoiding her like the plague. She couldn't honestly remember even seeing Tomoyo in the hallways and that must have been a real challenge because they had most of the same classes!

The only thing she had to comfort herself with was the knowledge that she'd finally gotten Eriol to ask the teacher to switch parts with the kid playing Raoul. He had put up a valiant fight up until a couple of weeks ago when she burst into sobs and he caved. The kid playing Raoul didn't seem to mind switching roles and even went on to say he would have preferred the role of the phantom anyway. Something about having practiced for it since elementary school... she recalled. Whatever, it worked for her... no way was she even going to act like she was in love with some stranger. Eriol had said it didn't matter either way because, 'it was only a play', but since Sakura actually liked Eriol she knew she could play Christine that much more realistically.

Finally, she took a deep breath and steadied herself. 'It's only a play, it's only a play.' She thought to herself as she heard the roar of applause out in the auditorium.

Well... it was now or never.

Shakily, she made her way out onto the stage with the other actors and actresses and got ready for the first scene. Miraculously, her voice didn't crack and she managed not to trip over herself while dancing with the others. Still, her performance could have been best described as stiff and unreliable... that was until Raoul's first scene.

Eriol walked in, looking as though he weren't wearing a costume at all, but rather that he belonged in the clothes they'd picked out for him. His stage presence alone stole the audience's attention as he performed and sang with flawless perfection. Sakura couldn't help but loose herself in the tenor of his voice, she forgot that she was Sakura... and everyone else's performance seemed to improve as well.

She danced and sang with him onstage, forgetting her fears, forgetting the phantom's darkness in favor of his subtle promises of healing and light.

When they got to the scene on the terrace everything had gone smoothly... the audience was enraptured by the high school's performance. Raoul took Christine out among the gargoyles and into the night air where neither of them would be found by anyone.

Sakura's heart beat faster as suddenly, something had changed. She paused near the stage door as Eriol beckoned to her, his eyes flickering with some unknown emotion that had caught her off guard and reminded her that she was Sakura.

_Raoul:_

_No more talk of darkness,_

_Forget these wide-eyed fears._

_I'm here, nothing can harm you..._

_My words will warm and calm you. _

_Let me be your freedom, _

_let daylight dry your tears. _

_I'm here with you, beside you..._

_To guard you and to guide you._

He was... he was serious. Sakura stared at him as he sang to her. Suddenly she was trapped, there was no where she could run anymore. Sakura shook a little, uncomprehending. Why was he saying these things? Didn't he understand that she couldn't...

But...

She looked in his eyes, entranced by what they showed her. A small voice told her to trust him... a warm feeling rushed through her veins... what was this?

Cautiously, she stepped towards him, putting into song the question in her soul.

_Christine:_

_Say you love me every waking moment,_

_turn my head with talk of summertime... _

_Say you need me with you now and always... _

_Promise me that all you say is true._

_That's all I ask of you._

God... she was answering him! Eriol's heart pounded in his chest. He had no idea what had provoked him to push her like this... but somehow he had let himself become complacent. He'd let himself become accustomed to her gentle embrace, her warm smile. It was unfair of him to force her to answer him... but the damage had already been done, he might as well suffer the consequences. Taking a deep breath, he stepped towards her in response, baring his heart to her completely was the only way she would understand...

_Raoul:_

_Let me be your shelter, _

_let me be your light. _

_You're safe: No-one will find you._

_Your fears are far behind you._

Safe? Tears crept down her cheeks, and the little voice grew louder. Yes, she wanted safety... she was so tired of the crushing darkness. Could Eriol really save her from it? Could he save her from oblivion?

_Christine:_

_All I want is freedom,_

_a world with no more night..._

_and you, always beside me, _

_to hold me and to hide me..._

'Yes, Sakura... I can save you. Let me save you. Can't you see I need you too?' Eriol thought.

_Raoul:_

_Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime..._

_let me lead you from your solitude..._

_Say you need me with you here, beside you..._

_anywhere you go, let me go too. _

_Christine, that's all I ask of you._

Sakura danced in his arms, the choreography she had practiced was on automatic... but this was so much more than just lyrics and dancing. The magic of his emotions touched her deeply. He wanted her... and he desperately hoped that she wouldn't refuse him. Her heart skipped a beat and the voice told her that she wanted him too. She wanted everything he promised her... and so much more. She needed him, and she knew it. She shook slightly in his arms, but any thoughts of denying him had flown completely from her mind.

_Christine:_

_Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime..._

_say the word and I will follow you..._

Eriol almost laughed, he was so happy.

_Raoul & Christine:_

_Share each day with me, each night, each morning..._

Their smiles were real as they realized they'd found exactly what they needed... each in the eyes of the other.

_Christine:_

_Say you love me..._

Sakura held her breath, but she didn't have to wait long before he leaned in against her, completing the line just loud enough for the microphone to pick up,

_Raoul:_

_You know I do..._

Smiling brilliantly she joined him in the last few verses, neither of them even noticed the phantom when he appeared to sing his lines. They heard nothing but the beating of their hearts. Eriol stroked her cheek lovingly as they finished the duet. Sakura flushed a brilliant pink.

_Raul & Christine:_  
_Love me - that's all I ask of you..._

Eriol leaned in, drawing her lips upward to meet his with his fingers. She let him lead her, emerald eyes locked with sapphire.

Abruptly Eriol paused, and the magic broke. Sakura had no time to react as he flung his arms around her, shielding her with his body. The bolt of red energy hit him square in the back.

The audience gasped, as they had all seen this coming... but wondered why the play was suddenly deviating from it's script...

Gasping for breath, Eriol collapsed into Sakura's embrace as the magic took over his body. Sakura was too busy screaming Eriol's name and begging him to be alright to notice the phantom lurking nearby, his appearance shifting...

Slowly, Eriol lifted his head. Sakura was relieved... until she saw the furious look in his eyes.

"Eriol?"

"Don't be so familiar." Eriol spat, pushing her away. She sprawled backwards onto the stage, gasping in shock

"Eriol... what?"

"This was a mistake." He said heartlessly, staring directly into her eyes. "I don't love you, and I never have. I can't believe I let you convince me to play this part. What a joke. Sayonara, Kinomoto-san." Eriol didn't give her any time to object as he turned from her with a finality that frightened her, and simply walked off stage.

"E-eriol?"she whispered in disbelief. In that moment she felt so alone it was surreal. The darkness crushed in at her from every side. "Eriol... please... Eriol!" She cried.

* * *

__

**~Rozu**


	5. Game over?

Re-Broken

Disclaimer: I love CCS... but I don't own it. :( Oh, and I don't own Phantom of the Opera either.

- A change in writing style/time/place/whatever (will notate in () which one if necessary)

Rating: T

Summary: A new enemy is trying to break Sakura's spirit in order to weaken her enough to steal her cards from her. Everyone around her seems to be turning cruel... and the only solace she can find is in the arms of the man she never expected.

Pairings: Syaoran/Sakura, Sakura/Eriol

(Chapter 12.5: Game over?)

Eriol staggered out of the theater, collapsing to his knees as the magic wore off.

Nearby he heard a young man's dark laughter fill the air.

"Delicious!" Toro hissed as his phantom disguise wore off. He walked up to his newest puppet and dragged him upwards by his hair. Eriol didn't flinch, but simply didn't have it in himself to fight. Hot tears of pain rolled down his cheeks.

"Why?" he demanded quietly, pain surging through his heart. "Why are you doing this to her?"

Toro laughed, tossing his black hair out of his eyes haughtily, "Why not? When it's so deliciously fun to mess with human emotions. I have destroyed the light of this world for ALL TIME. Do you understand what this means? Wars will break out everywhere... destruction and chaos will reign. It's so beautiful I could cry." the villain sneered.

"This... spell of yours... you used it on all of her friends."

"Very perceptive." Toro nodded, letting Eriol do all the detective work, since it was so much more fun to hear it second-hand than to have to gloat about it yourself.

"But it doesn't last very long... what did you do? Capture all of her friends and replace them with drones?"

"Correct again. My assistant helped a little with that. When it seemed like Sakura needed to be knocked down an extra notch or two she disguised herself as one of her little friends and berated her some more. It was so much fun to watch!"

Eriol scowled, "Where are they now?"

Toro laughed, "They've been entertaining my hospitality for months now. Barely alive, I've crushed them both physically and mentally by letting them watch this happen to their friend while they were able to do nothing to help her."

"Why did it work on me?" Eriol was secretly afraid to know the answer to this... but it had to be asked.

Toro sneered and released Eriol, letting him fall back to the ground unceremoniously. "Your protective seal is gone. Clow is gone. You are powerless."

It couldn't be true... and how did they find out about Clow's seal? Well... it didn't matter much now did it? They had won... and he had unintentionally let them.

"I was so distracted with Sakura's sadness... I had no time to practice using my own magic."

"Not that it wasn't a valiant effort you put in to try and save her." Toro chuckled.

"What will you do with me now?" Eriol snapped in annoyance... might as well get this over with.

"Oh, I don't know. What do you think?" Toro asked quietly, his eyes glinting with mischief.

"I'm not a fool. There's no way you would let me go back to her and tell her what you've done." Eriol rolled his eyes.

"Oh no?" Toro laughed at Eriol's surprised expression.

"And why wouldn't I want you to deliver this message for me. The man she thought she could trust, telling her how all of her friends are locked up in chains and how it's all her fault for being a pathetic card mistress. How she was so easily fooled into believing that nobody loved her anymore and spiraled into the darkness that made you a viable stand-in for everyone she's ever cared for."

Eriol shook as he realized what Toro was saying.

"That's right, because even if you hadn't lost your powers, this is what you've always wanted, Eriol Hiiragizawa. Be honest, would you regret undoing everything that I've done for you? You know you don't have the strength in you to deny the future I've given you. How about I give you the option? Run away from here like a puppy with it's tail between it's legs. Soundly defeated... just like your Chinese descendant, Syaoran Li. Or, go and tell the woman you love that even though she has lost everything that she has ever loved... at least she has _you_!"

Eriol curled against himself, lost for words. He couldn't deny Toro's words. All of it was the truth... he couldn't go back without regret, he was so damned selfish...

"Oh look... it appears I don't need you as my messenger after all..."

No... it couldn't be...

But it was, Sakura had gotten up the strength at last to run after him... only to pause, frozen in her hiding place behind a tree, as she had heard everything Toro had said.

His eyes met hers. Within them he read shock and betrayal. Disbelief and fury. Pain and regret. Eriol was crushed completely. His spirit shattered into pieces within him.

Toro sensed his distress and smiled darkly, "I think I've tortured you quite enough... time to put you out of your misery." He reached down and touched a finger to Eriol's exposed neck. The dark mage crumpled to the ground, unconscious. "There you go." Toro said softly, then grinned up at the cardmistress who was just standing there, her eyes devoid of emotion.

"Farewell, my dear." Toro bowed, then grabbed Eriol's shirt and vanished with him.

* * *

(Hong Kong)

_Syaoran walked along. This was now the third time he'd come to this place... training to see the future was so exhausting._

_He sighed as he kicked up the clouds. Nothing ever made any sense in this place. Lately he'd only been seeing flashes of Sakura and Tomoeda... but since he wanted nothing to do with either he had decided that they had been too confusing for him to pay any attention to._

_Suddenly a figure appeared nearby. That was odd... other people didn't usually appear in the future plane. Usually what he saw were visions and scattered ideas._

_As he walked closer, the figure became more corporeal. At last, he recognized the young man who stood there._

_"What the hell are you doing here four-eyes?" Syaoran growled. Eriol was the last person he expected to see in the future-realm._

_The dark-haired man just stared at him blankly, as if he did not recognize Syaoran. _

_Well... Syaoran supposed that made sense, he was definitely more built than the last time Eriol had seen him... training to be head of the Li clan had helped a lot with that... he'd also begun wearing his hair long, tying it up in a ponytail. Apparently it was a required fashion-trend for all Li head's regardless of their gender. Frankly he just chalked the change up to the complete lack of time he had to actually get a hair cut._

_"Hiiragizawa?" Syaoran frowned, snapping his fingers in front of the other man's face. "It's me... Syaoran?"_

_"Syaoran..." Eriol's brow furrowed slightly then his eyes focused and he stared at the brunet. "Syaoran! You have to come quick, we haven't much time..."_

_"Woah! Wait. I don't even know what's going on." Syaoran said, digging his heels into the non-existance._

_Eriol glared at him, the look in his eyes was impatient, bordering on feral. Woah... what on earth had happened to make the great Hiiragizawa Eriol freak out like this?_

_"Syaoran, I do not have the time to explain, and if we wait here any longer you are going to run out of time!"_

_"Does this have anything to do with Sakura?" Syaoran's voice stopped him... it was hard and unfeeling. Eriol stared at the brunet in disbelief._

_"Syaoran... we really don't have time for this..." He begged quietly._

_"I see. Go solve your own problems. I have quite enough of my own, thank you very much." Syaoran said, wrenching his hand from the other's grip. _

_"Sakura is going to DIE!" _

_Syaoran stopped... the card mistress, die? Frowning, he motioned for Eriol to explain._

_"Please... if you care for the world at all... if you don't hurry they will win. Sakura needs you, Syaoran. You are the only one who can save her now." Eriol looked sad._

_Something stirred in his heart as he stared at his long-time rival in disbelief. "Why... can't you?"_

_Tears were the last thing the brunet expected to see on the other man's cheeks. "I just can't... not anymore." _

_Syaoran watched as the specter of his dream vanished slowly from view. The last thing left behind a single tear splashing against the floor._

The brunet woke on the floor of the dojo in a cold sweat. His teacher blinked at him. "Well... what did you See?"

"I have to go back to Japan. NOW!" Syaoran ordered, getting up as fast as his body would allow.

Panicking, the teacher dialed the phone...

* * *

(Tomoeda)

Sakura just sat against a tree outside of the theater. She was still in her costume... but nothing seemed to matter anymore. No one could get her attention. They shouted her name, begged her to go on with the show.

She couldn't hear them. She couldn't hear anything.

_"The worst part is, you wouldn't change any of this. Secretly, this is what you wanted all along."_

Eriol had betrayed her... he had promised to protect her... promised to save her. He'd failed. Failed completely. She couldn't fight the darkness anymore... and soon it would consume her completely.

_"Say you love me..._

_You know I do."_

He... he had said he loved her. Tears streaked down her cheeks. No... it was a lie. It was all a lie. Her friends were dying because she had failed them... Syaoran had left her because she had been blind to the magic that had changed him.

Eriol had betrayed her because she had been vulnerable and weak.

_'No, that's not true!'_ A small voice said. Lazily, Sakura focused on the voice, confused. Not true? What could have been real?

_'He loves you.'_ Who? Eriol? As if!

_'He loves you!'_ ... Why? What made the voice think so?

_'Remember...'_

And suddenly, Sakura did.

She remembered how he had held her that day after she'd had her first fight with Syaoran. How he had soothed her and told her it was going to be ok. She remembered how he had offered her one of his unused rooms to sleep in so that she didn't have to cry herself to sleep in an empty house. She remembered the last few weeks where he had honestly been doing everything in his power to help her to forget... how she had slowly begun to fall.

And how she had fallen...

"Sakura? Sakura, snap out of it!"

A new voice broke through her thoughts, hazily she tried to focus on the brunet who was shaking her.

"Sakura? Sakura are you alright?" The young man insisted, pulling her from her daze.

"Eriol...kun..." she managed weakly, earning an annoyed glance form the brunet.

"Not this time. Sakura... it's me, Syaoran?"

A lie... their breakup had been an illusion! Sakura reeled... what should she do?

_'Eriol...'_ The voice spoke quietly.

But... Syaoran! She argued back. She had loved him first, after all. Maybe... maybe all wasn't lost...

"Sakura... get yourself together. You need to tell me what's going on." Syaoran pressed.

"Everyone... it was all a lie..." Sakura managed. "They are all gone. Everyone is gone."

"I'm here, Sakura."

_"No one hates you, Sakura-san."_

Sakura struggled to pull herself together. "It's all my fault... my fault for being weak."

Syaoran smiled and shook his head, "You are unpracticed... you're not weak."

_"You are the card mistres..."_

Sakura stared at Syaoran, and in spite of everything...

She saw his kind brown eyes pulling her out of her illusion, but they were grey. She saw his long brown hair, but it was dark blue. She heard what he was saying, knew who he was... and yet...

"Sakura... we should go and rescue your friends." Syaoran prodded gently.

Sakura burst into tears and buried her head in his shoulder. Syaoran smiled to himself and held her against him, soothing her with quiet whispers and a gentle shoulder massage.

"I missed you so much..." She cried.

Syaoran bit back the rush of memories that threatened him. He wanted to believe she remembered what they had... that she wanted him back as much as he wanted her...

Slowly, he lifted her head. Her eyes were clouded with darkness... but he could see she had enough sense still in her to refuse him if she wanted to...

He leaned forward and kissed her unceremoniously. She didn't resist, salty tears falling against his chin as he held her against him.

Eventually, he released her... the stunned look in her eyes spoke volumes.

"Syaoran...kun?" She whispered, wide eyed.

He smiled sadly at her, "You've changed."

Sakura laughed, the sound was both sad... and relieved. "So I have..." She agreed appologetically.

Syaoran swallowed his disappointment, there had been nothing in that kiss. No magic... no renewed love that he had been hoping for. Instead her emotions had shook them with their intensity. She had missed him, yes... but no more than she had missed the rest of her friends. He could tell immediately that her heart lay elsewhere... and as he stared at her, he knew she had realized the same thing.

"Eriol! They have him!" She panicked.

Narrowing his eyes, he nodded. "Then let's go."

* * *

__

**~Rozu**


	6. Hope

Re-Broken

Disclaimer: I love CCS... but I don't own it. :( Oh, and I don't own Phantom of the Opera either.

- A change in writing style/time/place/whatever (will notate in () which one if necessary)

Rating: T

Summary: A new enemy is trying to break Sakura's spirit in order to weaken her enough to steal her cards from her. Everyone around her seems to be turning cruel... and the only solace she can find is in the arms of the man she never expected.

Pairings: Syaoran/Sakura, Sakura/Eriol

(Chapter 13.5: Hope)

Syaoran tore open a portal for them and without a second to spare they rushed into the nothingness that separated them from the villain's headquarters.

They eventually came to a large open field. Syaoran supposed that this would be the battlefield their enemy had chosen for the showdown. There wasn't much foliage in the area. Barren earth stretched out in all directions. The only bit of nature existed in the form of dead trees that surrounded them as though this was once a clearing in a lush forest.

As they drew closer, Sakura gasped in anguish. On the trees were tied each of the friends Sakura had thought were lost to her. Bound by what looked like rope, they didn't move as the pair approached. None of them stirred, but Sakura could tell they were alive... if only barely.

Syaoran grit his teeth... someone was going to pay for this. Even if these people hadn't been Sakura's friends, they were still just innocent bystanders and should not have been dragged into the game that the enemy was playing.

Sakura spotted Tomoyo and Meilin tied next to each other and broke into a run before Syaoran could stop her.

"Sakura don't!"

From behind the trees came an unnatural black fog, Sakura was stopped immediately by a familiar pair of individuals.

"Well, well, well." The redhead smirked, pushing the young woman backwards. "So the card princess has decided to grace us with her presence. We thought for sure you weren't going to come, little one. Oh, and look Toro, she brought the Chinese prince with her!"

"Allow us to introduce ourselves." The black haired man sneered. "I am Toro, and this is Rika. For the better part of the last several months you have been entertaining our marvelous plan to destroy this world... and now, of course, is the part where we put an end to your miserable lives."

"In your dreams." Syaoran replied dangerously, the five-force sword glowing menacingly in his right hand. "If either of you have any sense at all you will stop this insane plan immediately and maybe the card mistress will go easy on you when she passes judgment on you for your terrible crimes against her."

Toro laughed, "How cute! They actually think they can win against us!"

Rika grinned and pulled a familiar stack of cards out of her pocket. They rose up from her palm and danced around the two of them.

Sakura stared at her cards, which were all now red in color, as they floated around her enemies. Even... even her cards had lost faith in her...

"Be strong." Syaoran whispered. Sakura could only nod, shaking slightly as she did so.

"You see? We have all of the power! You cannot possibly hope to win this fight." Rika laughed.

"Where is Eriol?" Sakura demanded. She didn't really want to know the answer, seeing the state of her other friends she could only imagine what they had done to Eriol... but maybe if she could at least see him, she could think of a way to save him from whatever it was they had done.

Toro's smile widened at her question. "Tsk, tsk young lady! You don't want to spoil all of my surprises at once, now do you?"

Sakura blinked in confusion. How could Eriol be one of their surprises? She growled at them, which only made them laugh in response. "Release him at once!" she ordered.

Toro wagged a finger at her. "That would be kind of hard to do... since he's currently trapped within a world of his own creation."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, a uneasy feeling creeping over her skin.

"You remember how you were feeling just moments after Hiiragizawa had burned you onstage, and then to top it off you found out that this was all your fault?" Toro asked.

Sakura frowned, refusing to be baited, but nodded her head anyway. How could she forget such a feeling.

"Well in your friend's case... we did a slightly better job in completely destroying his spirit." Toro explained.

Sakura stared, Eriol was always so collected and impenetrable... not that she didn't believe they could do it, but she could not fathom what they could have done to crush him completely.

Then again... maybe she could.

_"Be honest... you wouldn't change this, even if you could."_

Sakura pulled out her key and summoned the star wand. "Think you can distract them long enough for me to get past them?" she whispered to Syaoran.

He stared at her a moment, then nodded. Drawing up his sword he began the attack, surprizing both of the opponents. A large serpent made entirely of electricity burst out of the end of his blade and lanced towards them baring sharp fangs and hissing as it went.

Sakura followed in the wake of the dust and managed to sneak past the villains who were now busy summoning all 52 of her cards to attack Syaoran.

Sakura refrained from squeeling with happiness that her little plan had worked... somehow it had been a little too easy...

She burst out of the dead-tree forest to discover a desolate cliffside ending her journey. There was no way she could cross the chasm... first of all it was filled with lava currently flowing from a nearby active volcano. She would have flown or even jumped across except that all of her cards were currently in use...

She shivered, these bad guys sure knew how to pick a battle-ground.

"What exactly did you think you would find out here?"

His voice sent a shiver down her spine as he appeared behind her. Though he was still wearing his dashing Raoul outfit, Eriol's appearance had taken on a sinister hue.

After a few moments of observation, she realized that he wasn't going to attack her as she first thought. His eyes were completely devoid of emotion as he stepped towards her. He was like a cat that was studying it's prey... waiting for the right moment to pounce.

"Eriol..." She whispered as he neared her, then braced herself for the worst. "Actually, I was hoping I would find you."

The dark mage tilted his head curiously, "You chased me? Even after I said those awful things to you?"

Sakura nodded slowly. "Somehow... I knew there had to be something else, some kind of spell making you say those things."

Eriol was now standing directly in front of her, she was feeling a bit like he was standing too close, but she stood her ground. She resisted the temptation to flinch when he reached forward to take her chin in his hands.

"Somehow I find that hard to believe, since you are trembling even now in my presence." Eriol commented wryly.

"That is because you are not yourself... and frankly I don't know what to expect, considering it was those two that made you this way." Sakura replied.

Eriol studied her quietly for a few moments. "They told me to kill you on sight."

Sakura nodded, waiting.

"But... there's something about you... I wonder..." Eriol frowned thoughtfully.

"Wonder... what?" Sakura insisted, hoping that, against all odds, he was going to say what she was thinking.

And then he did...

"I wonder, if you might be able to save me..."

Sakura resisted the urge to smile and hug him, since Eriol wouldn't understand the gesture in the state he was in. "If I could... what would I have to do?"

Eriol motioned to the lava and a few rocks appeared, floating downstream. "On the opposite side of that chasm... lies another realm. This side represents reality and light... that side is the realm of dreams and darkness. If you choose to cross, you must leave your body here. If you have the power that I believe you have, then you will find me there... and with any luck, you will find a way to bring me back.

"Why... are you letting me help you?" Sakura asked him curiously.

"I... I don't know." He shrugged.

Sakura walked to the edge of the cliff and took a deep breath, then with a little help from the power of her star wand her body fell to the ground, her spirit floating upwards and skipping across the stones carefully.

Eriol watched her disappear from view before taking a defensive stance near her body. If anyone asked... he had killed her without mercy.

* * *

__

**Yep.**

**~Rozu**


	7. Poisoned Dreams

Re-Broken

Disclaimer: I love CCS... but I don't own it. :( Oh, and I don't own Phantom of the Opera either.

- A change in writing style/time/place/whatever (will notate in () which one if necessary)

Rating: T

Summary: A new enemy is trying to break Sakura's spirit in order to weaken her enough to steal her cards from her. Everyone around her seems to be turning cruel... and the only solace she can find is in the arms of the man she never expected.

Pairings: Syaoran/Sakura, Sakura/Eriol

(Chapter 14.5: Poisoned dreams)

Syaoran faced the cards head-on. With all of his new skills he evaded them and countered them with practiced ease. Toro and Rika watched from the sidelines, wondering if the young man could take them all down on his own.

Still, even if he could there was the whole problem of him not being able to seal them back under their original names. Only Sakura could do that, and who knew where she had gotten herself to...

* * *

(Dreamworld)

Safely across the chasm of lava, Sakura walked onward, her surroundings becoming more vague and distorted as she went. Eventually, she realized she had no idea which direction she was even walking in, much less which one would take her back the way she had come. Well, this was just great. How was she supposed to find Eriol's spirit if she couldn't even find herself!

On that note, she spotted some shadowy figures off in the distance and decided that heading towards them would be better than her previous plan. As she got closer, her heart pounded faster. Gathered together in this strange world, the spirits of her friends were all grouped together. Each and every one of them smiled brightly at her and beconed her to them.

"Everyone..." Sakura teared up a little. She was glad to know their spirits were still intact, even if their bodies were not.

"We've missed you Sakura." They answered as one, raising their arms towards her and motioning for her to join them in a group hug.

She stepped forward, wanting nothing more at that moment than to be reconciled at last with her lost friends and be at ease that somehow, they would make it out of this.

"Sakura don't."

Sakura blinked as she fould herself being held back by two of her best friends. "Tomoyo! Meilin!" She cried happily as they restrained her.

Tomoyo smiled and shook her head, "You mustn't become sidetracked by the things you see here. If you are not careful you will never escape this place." her friend cautioned.

"Yeah, you really have to watch your step around here. Whatever you do, don't do anything that seems too easy or straightforward, because it's probably a trap." Meilin agreed.

"But... these people are my friends just as much as you are... why would they want to hurt me?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"We are your best friends Sakura... we care for you much more than them." Tomoyo said sagely. "But even we cannot remain in control of ourselves indefinately. This place does things to your mind."

"You will never want to leave." Meilin added.

"So... what should I do? Just ignore them?" Sakura asked in despair.

"Shhh, you mustn't get worked up Sakura-san. They will be free of this place as surely as us, as soon as you finish your quest here. Then you can crush them with hugs all you want." Tomoyo reassured.

"You know..." Melin muttered quietly, something odd shifting in her tone. "She doesn't _have _to finish the quest. This place isn't so bad when you get used to it."

Sakura stared... what was Meilin talking about? Just a moment ago she'd been agreeing with Tomoyo...

"Sakura, RUN." Tomoyo said releasing Sakura's arms and flying through the air to tackle the chinese girl to the ground. Meilin was a much more experienced fighter than Tomoyo... but the distraction of having to pull Tomoyo off of her was more than enough to allow Sakura to escape.

"Good luck." Tomoyo whispered quietly.

* * *

Sakura ran until she couldn't run anymore. She looked around, but it seemed she had not been followed. She decided to try and get her bearings... figure out where she had gotten herself this time.

Immediately, she realized she recognized where she was. It was Clow Reed's house! She'd visited it only twice before using the return card, but there was no mistaking the sprawling mansion with its maze-like gardens and single cherry tree out front.

She also realized that it was dark out, but that she didn't seem to be having trouble seeing. Further observation was interrupted when she heard a distressed sound. She listened quietly, realizing the sound was of a young child crying. She navigated the maze as quickly as she could, diving in between the roses and high vined walls until she reached the source of the sound.

A boy no older than five sat curled against one of the vined walls, wedged in next to a water fountain. He was turned away from her for the moment, but as she drew closer she could make out his dark blue hair.

It... couldn't be...

"Hey there little guy..." Sakura chirped, startling the youngster. She held her arms up in surrender as he dived behind the fountain to get away from her.

"W-who are you? S-stay away from me!" He warned frightfully as he cowered where she could no longer see him.

"My name is Sakura. Please don't be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you." She promised, as she leaned over to try to get a better glance at him.

Slowly the little blue-haired head poked back out. Comically large glasses rimmed his frightened grey eyes as he stared at her, sniffling quietly.

There was no mistaking him now. Sakura resisted the urge to coo and make baby noises, but it was no easy task. Chibi Eriol was just so... CUTE!

"There you go, come on out and tell Sakura-onee-san what's the matter." Sakura coaxed, holding a hand out to him. He shied away from her outstretched fingers, but didn't hide again.

"I... was playing *sniff* a-and 'tou-san said don't go far, but I didn't listen... and now it's dark... and I can't see good... and... and... wahhhh." Chibi Eriol sobbed unhappily.

Sakura fought the urge to just sweep the adorable youngster into her arms and hug the tears out of him. Obviously Eriol didn't trust her, she supposed that made sense since she was a stranger and kids were generally wary of people they didn't know. Especially in the dark.

She wondered idly why she was even talking to a 3 year old Eriol... but then remembered this was a dream world and just about anything was possible.

_'Help him, Sakura.'_

Sakura jumped, startled, who had said that? She glanced around as the toddler sobbed.

Suddenly she saw a vision of Clow Reed. He smiled and waved his finger over his lips. She nodded, confused.

_'Help him.'_ Clow repeated, seeming to telepath the thought straight into her mind.

Feeling silly, but deciding that trying was better than doing nothing, she thought back to him as hard as she could.

_'WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?'_

_'Not so loud, Sakura-san.'_ The apparition smiled, rubbing his head.

_'Sorry!'_

_'You are seeing Eriol as he was before I made myself known to him. You remember what happened outside of the play?'_

_'In... the real world?'_

_'Yes.'_

_'Yes...'_

_'Eriol's spirit was shattered, much in the way yours would have if Syaoran hadn't saved you at the last second. In this place you will find those pieces. You must bring them together. This piece in particular holds great significance for Eriol, as it holds all of the power Eriol possessed before I sealed it to make room for my own.'_

Sakura wasn't sure she had any idea what Clow was talking about. Seals? Eriol's power? She sensed however, that she didn't have the time to ask all the questions she needed answered though, and decided to focus on the more pressing matter. Eriol's pieces...

_'Ok, so how do I get his pieces back together?'_

_'In this place you will find the spirits of the Sakura Cards... some of them are still loyal to you and will aid you while you are in this realm. Some of them have captured the pieces of Eriol's spirit and will not relinquish them unless you pass their individual tests. When you discover them and convince them to rejoin you, you may either keep them here with you or you can send them back to the real world to aid Syaoran in his battle against them. Choose wisely, you will need their aid as well to free Eriol, as well as yourself, from this place.'_

_'Syaoran! I had almost forgotten... is he alright?' _

_'He will be fine as long as you do not fail in your task. You must free all of the spirits of the cards, you must get the pieces of Eriol's spirit back together, and you must get both your own spirit and his back to the real world or all will be lost.'_

'But no pressure.' Sakura thought to herself glumly, not meaning for Clow to hear her griping... though he did anyways, winking at her devilishly as his apparition vanished from view.

'Right... Eriol's pieces...' She summoned up a smile and held her hand out to the boy once more. "Come on then, I'll help you find your way." She said to the little boy, whose tears had finally slowed.

Chibi Eriol stared at her a minute then slowly crept out from behind the fountain. "H-how are you going to help me? It's so dark out..."

Sakura realized the answer as she took the little boy's hand. Smiling quietly, she held her head up high. "Well that's easy... I have more than enough light to shine the way."

Immediately the glow that had been surrounding her flowed outward, the mansion and its gardens vanished as if they had never been there, revealing a long silver chain winding its way from Chibi Eriol's small leg to a sinister looking throne. Sitting upon the throne, grinning at her like a cat about to pounce on it's prey, was a person so shocking Sakura had to do a double-take, rub her eyes, and pinch herself to see if it was real.

It was her! Except that it wasn't... the auburn haired woman was scantily dressed in a red and black ensemble that Sakura was pretty sure she herself would NEVER wear...

Sexy Sakura grinned at her from her place upon the throne, "Leaving so soon? Hmmm... not without passing my test you don't."

This was officially a nightmare... Sakura thought as she stared at her, uh, reflection. She stood her ground though, she wasn't about to leave young Eriol in this woman's clutches, even if she did look like Sakura!

"Hmph" Sakura uttered quietly, then shrugged nonchalantly. "I was going to say something like, I'm here to steal Eriol from you and you can't do anything about it... but now that seems kind of pointless."

"Oh?" Sexy Sakura blinked curiously, swirling some wine into a glass she was holding. "And why is that, my dear?"

"Well I don't think it counts as stealing if you are taking things from yourself."

The other Sakura blinked again, then her grin widened. She set her glass down on the armrest and rose to her high-heeled feet, clacking softly against the marble as she walked up to Sakura. She reached forward and set a single crimson fingernail against the underside of Sakura's chin, observing her. "And, you truly believe... that I am you?" She asked curiously.

Sakura wavered under the stare of her reflection's eyes and shuddered. "Well..."

Sexy Sakura laughed and lowered her hand, leaning backwards to give Sakura a bit of space. "You may as well get this test right, darling. I promise you the others you will face here will not be so forgiving."

Sakura blinked, surprised. This... was a test? And this girl, she knew about the tests? Sakura fought the urge to deny outright what her reflection was saying... since that was obviously the wrong answer. "B-but..." her eyes flickered to her reflection's clothes... how _could_ this person be her!

The other Sakura took a few more steps back and looked bemused. "Everyone has a dark side, darling. What makes us human is that we are not perfect, after all."

She walked over to Eriol and ruffled his hair. The boy shuddered against her touch.

"B-but... how can I be something that Eriol is afraid of?" Sakura asked in dispair.

Sexy Sakura laughed, "Oh, he is not afraid of me, Sakura dear. At least, not in the way that you think. I am unknown to him... at his age he doesn't understand the things I convey with a single touch... but trust me dearie, as he gets older he will not only understand this part of you, but be more than willing to give in to your dark side."

Sakura glanced at Chibi Eriol for conformation, but then remembered that the young boy could not possibly know whether his older self would agree or disagree with this comment.

"Alright then... I guess I do believe that you are my dark side." Sakura stated firmly.

The other Sakura nodded, then she disappeared, replaced by the images of The Dark and The Mirror, who bowed apologetically. The Light appeared next to Sakura and smiled knowingly.

"Sorry we had to put you through that mistress." The Dark said softly.

"We never really believed you had given up hope." The Mirror agreed.

"How silly we were to believe that... when you've had it all along." The Light commented, reaching into Sakura's pocket and pulling out the only card Sakura had ever created herself...

And the only card currently not facing Syaoran!

Sakura stared at the girl enshrined in the card and her breath skipped a beat. She'd had The Hope all of this time? She thought she might have to hit herself on the head for not realizing that sooner.

Beaming happily she shook her head. "No, it's alright... I understand! Please don't berate yourselves." Sakura smiled.

"What will you do with us now?" The Dark asked quietly.

Sakura looked thoughtful, remembering what Clow had said. "Well... I don't think I'm going to need you Dark... nor you Mirror. So you both can go back to aid Syaoran. Light, I know you don't like being separated from her... but I need your help here."

The Light shook her head regally, "I know we will eventually be reunited, mistress."

Dark nodded her agreement.

"Alright then, go ahead."

The two cards vanished, their essences streaking overhead until she could no longer see them. The Light returned to her card form, and the shackles around Chibi Eriol's ankle vanished.

"Arigatou, Sakura." Chibi Eriol cried happily.

And, although his voice was high-pitched and childish, Sakura suddenly heard the strange overtones of one who had known what had been happening all along and had been just feigning ignorance.

Sakura stared at the boy, who cowered sheepishly. "You knew?"

Chibi Eriol didn't look up. "That you are Sakura? Of course! I have seen you in my dreams plenty of times!" he chirped.

Sakura's head reeled... she vaguely recalled dreaming of Syaoran, Kaho, and Eriol before she had met them... but Eriol had been dreaming _of her?_ Clow had said that this Eriol hadn't met him yet... which only meant one thing...

Eriol had known of Sakura _before_ Clow had given him his own memories of her, and given him the special instructions to find her.

What did it mean?

_**

* * *

**_

**~Rozu**


	8. Empty promises

Re-Broken

Disclaimer: I love CCS... but I don't own it. :( Oh, and I don't own Phantom of the Opera either.

- A change in writing style/time/place/whatever (will notate in () which one if necessary)

Rating: T

Summary: A new enemy is trying to break Sakura's spirit in order to weaken her enough to steal her cards from her. Everyone around her seems to be turning cruel... and the only solace she can find is in the arms of the man she never expected.

Pairings: Syaoran/Sakura, Sakura/Eriol

Cassie M.M., BAlleRInaROSe: XD, I'm so glad you are enjoying this story.

(Chapter 15.5: Empty promises)

Syaoran fought to the edge of his endurance, seeming to push himself beyond the limits of what was physically possible as he twisted through the dark forest avoiding things he couldn't even see as he flew threw the air, directing his own elemental attacks where he sensed they would strike next.

He had already taken down many of the more corporeal cards a handful of times each, but without Sakura's sealing wand anywhere in sight they kept regaining their energy and coming at him from out of nowhere.

This was particularly bothersome as he was using all of his attention as it was just to avoid the elemental cards that were more slippery in nature and infinitely harder to hit. He had taken down a couple of them once a piece... but many of them retained most if not all of their energy despite his best efforts and if something didn't happen soon Syaoran was going to start missing a step or two, he wasn't a robot after all.

Suddenly the darkness lifted, and Syaoran found himself able to see his attackers clearly.

What had happened?

He blinked as two pink cards floated towards him from the fray. The Dark and The Mirror? How had they changed back? Where was Sakura? So many questions that Syaoran couldn't get answered...

They prodded him in card form as if to tell him that he could borrow their power in their master's absence. He wasn't sure how that was even possible... but he decided that he'd much rather use them first and ask questions later. He slammed the tip of his sword against both of the cards and the darkness swept over the field anew, but this time it was the cards who could not see. Mirror guarded his back, reflecting elemental attacks away from him when he could not do it himself.

He sighed with relief. This wasn't going to win him the fight... but it was a good start.

* * *

(Dreamworld)

Hand in hand, Sakura walked along in the strange dreamworld with a 3 year old Eriol. Even at three the kid had an impressive grasp of the Japanese language, even though he'd been born in London. Every now and then though, he would slip and forget the company he was with. Sakura was lucky that she had been forced to take English (even if she hadn't always been paying attention) as she managed to understand him anyway.

As they walked the scenery changed from marble floors to lush grassy fields. Sakura trees encased the area, their lively pink petals fluttering down and covering the grass beneath them like pink snow.

Sakura gasped at the beauty of it and smiled, this was obviously the work of The Flower... and possibly The Wood as well. She just stood still a moment in the peaceful serenity of her surroundings.

"Welcome home... Sakura-chan."

Sakura whirled around in surprise, chibi Eriol dived beneath her skirt for cover.

Walking forward from the base of a Sakura tree was a familiar woman with long flowing grey hair, her arms outstretched in greeting.

"O-okaa...-san?" Sakura breathed in disbelief as her mother walked up to her, smiling sweetly as she reached to thread her pale fingers through Sakura's hair.

"You have grown beautifully, my daughter." Nadeshiko commented, her kind eyes twinkling with pride.

Tears in her eyes, Sakura dived into her mother's arms and sobbed with happiness. Finally, after all these years of being jealous of her brother for his ability to see ghosts... she could see her mother at last! She sobbed relentlessly releasing all of her grief and sorrow... her mother just held her knowingly, and they spent a few perfect moments alone.

Eventually, Sakura's tears died down, and she was surprised when she heard a small whimpering sound behind her. She nearly turned to look behind her, but Nadeshiko drew her attention away from the sound. "Come away with me, my sweet child. You have waited more than long enough to be with me. So courageous and strong, it is time for you to rest and be at peace."

Sakura soaked in her mother's words. She was free. Free from otherwordly troubles, free to be with her mother where there was no bad guys... no dangerous elemental spirits to capture... just her mother, and this place of joy, tranquility, and togetherness.

Nadeshiko patted Sakura's auburn head, "Stay with me, Sakura-chan... forget all of your troubles, they are far behind you."

Sakura rested her head against her mother's shoulder. Peace sounded so friendly... no battles to fight, no broken hearts to mend...

_~Turn your face away from the garish light of day, turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light. And listen to the music of the night.~_

**_"Sakura..."_ **

_She was lost in a dream, a far away dream of beauty and love..._

_**"Sakura!"**_

_The trees around her wavered... as if nothing was real... she heard voices... who were they? Why couldn't she remember them..._

_**"SAKURA!"**_

Suddenly, she knew, she heard. A bell clanged in her memory and she awoke, startled, to realize that she had been nearly encased in the quickly-growing branches of a tree. It wrapped around all the way up her body, and had nearly enclosed above her head... the branches blooming with Sakura blossoms... chibi Eriol was tugging desperately at the wood, trying to free her from her bindings.

Her mind swirled, still half dreaming, her mothers voiced called her back, promising her eternal happiness and endless dreams.

"Please... don't leave me!" Chibi Eriol cried.

Sakura struggled against the tree as it continued to encase her.

"Shhh, do not struggle so, my daughter." Nadeshiko whispered in her ear.

"Let me go!" Sakura replied, furiously, though to no avail, the wood was too strong for her to resist.

Chibi Eriol stood at the base of the tree with tears in his eyes. She glanced down at him, her emerald eyes shining with determination. "Eriol... do something!"

He stared back at her uncomprehending, "But what can I do?"

The Light emerged and took her sealing wand from around her neck, escaping just as the tree encased her completely. The gentle card brought the star wand down to the little boy who shook with sadness as she placed the object in his small hands.

It wasn't fair, why should this tree get to take Sakura away from him? Sakura, who always in his dreams, cheering him up when his parents were too busy to play with him... saving him when his nightmares were too scary for him to face alone...

'No.' Eriol thought forcefully. "I will not let this happen!" He shouted cutely and rose his right hand into the air, clenching the star key tightly. A strange circle appeared beneath his feet. It was neither Clow's circle nor Sakura's. Within the circle there were similar symbols... but the symbol in the center was that of a large golden heart backed by a six-pointed star. The star wand extended to twice his height, transforming into a white wand with a matching white heart and star that was easily the size of his head. Chibi Eriol himself seemed to age as well, growing from the size of a 3 year old to that of a 9 year old, the staff continued to extend in height to remain twice his.

He swung the staff to point it in the direction of the tree. Nadeshiko's spirit re-appeared in front of it, arms wide. "Do not!" She pleaded with the boy.

Eriol glowered at her, "Give me back my Sakura!"

Nadeshiko shook her head, "She is my daughter! I will not let her go again!"

"You are not even her real mother. Just an illusion! A copy that can NEVER be what you believe you are! You are a dream!"

Nadeshiko's spirit gasped and took a shaky step back as the boy advanced on her. "B-but... how did you know?"

Eriol flashed her a shy grin. "I have always been able to see things like you."

Nadeshiko bowed her head. "Such a powerful boy... no wonder Clow chose you to carry his mission..."

Eriol stood tall, and for a moment he almost looked like Clow, "That's because I am him."

Nadeshiko stared, "B-but... you said that you weren't!"

Eriol smiled and shrugged, "I am also not him. I was born of two parents who are not related to him at all. My powers are my own, in spite of the fact that they will be added onto by his. In the real world, I will eventually come to realize my true powers, and become my own person."

Nadeshiko bowed, and Eriol held his staff directly towards her. "Return to your true form... card-sama."

Nadeshiko's spirit dissipated, in her place were the three spirits that had been conjuring her. The Flower, The Wood, and The Illusion. Behind them, the tree that was holding Sakura captive vanished, she collapsed to her knees, dizzy from the sudden release of her thoughts.

They turned to her in unison, Flowery looking the most apologetic. Sakura staggered to her feet and took a good look at the scene before her. Three cards in their true forms... and an older-looking Eriol with a staff she'd never seen him with before. She walked up to them and took The Hope out of her pocket.

"I can't stay here with you." She said to them firmly. "I did not befriend you all just to be torn from you like this!"

They said nothing, as they were not created with voices. But she understood their questioning stares all the same.

Smiling she shook her head, "I admit, I really wanted to take the easy way out there for a minute. But then I remembered Yue's last judgment... and that this is what he had tried to do to me as well. I didn't want to loose you all then... and I certainly don't want to loose you all now."

They stared at her in awe, then bowed humbly before the light of her heart. Clearly they had underestimated their mistress.

Young Eriol walked up to her and handed her his staff, in her hands it transformed immediately back into the star wand.

"Sugoi..." She muttered in shock as she turned it over in her hands. She then transfered her stare from the wand to the boy. "How did you do that?"

Young Eriol shrugged, "It wanted me to help you. So I did."

Simple enough explanation, but somehow Sakura didn't really believe he was telling her the whole story. "But... how?"

Eriol just grinned slyly at her and put a finger up to his lips. "Secret."

Deciding that questioning him was getting her nowhere, she turned to the cards and made her decision.

"Wood and Illusion will return to help Syaoran. Flower can stay..."

Eriol blinked in surprise. "Wouldn't... you like to keep Wood with you also? Just in case?"

Sakura looked down at him and smiled, "Wood will not be as useful to me here. This place is a test for my mind... my heart. Hard elements like Woody don't belong here. I will have to re-befriend each of my cards as I go... attacking them will not accomplish that."

Eriol was unconvinced, "Some of those cards might choose to fight you anyways."

Sakura shook her head, "No... because I have beaten them all once before. Besides, they are not really in need of re-capturing. They are only under a spell. A spell that was easy to cast on them because my heart had been weak. When I show them my heart is no longer weak, they will come to me on their own."

Eriol resorted to pouting, "You didn't beat all of them Sakura. Syaoran beat a few of them for you."

"But I recreated them all under my name... what happened before that is inconsequential." Sakura argued easily.

"Hmph." Eriol muttered. She nodded to the cards and they vanished, leaving the same way the ones before had left. Flower looked concerned but Sakura just shook her head, reaching down to grasp Young Eriol's hand.

He refused it, crossing his arms.

She shrugged and walked on ahead. After a few moments he followed... stomping his feet the whole way.

* * *

**_Aww... he's throwing a tantrum. ^_^_**

__

**~Rozu**


	9. The Nightmare begins

Re-Broken

Disclaimer: I love CCS... but I don't own it. :( Oh, and I don't own Phantom of the Opera either.

- A change in writing style/time/place/whatever (will notate in () which one if necessary)

Rating: T

Summary: A new enemy is trying to break Sakura's spirit in order to weaken her enough to steal her cards from her. Everyone around her seems to be turning cruel... and the only solace she can find is in the arms of the man she never expected.

Pairings: Syaoran/Sakura, Sakura/Eriol

AN: Save early, and save often... *keeps leaning on her keyboard and erasing things she's written!*

* * *

(Chapter 16.5: The Nightmare begins)

Syaoran was getting tired. Having the Sakura Cards backing him up was great, but it was draining his magical energy... and since Li clan training was mainly physical, he hadn't had too many chances to increase his magic levels... therefore, it wouldn't be long before he couldn't keep them beside him.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw some branches reaching out to trip him. He made a valiant attempt to dodge them, but they changed direction at the last minute and curled up his ankle. Syaoran lost his balance and fell, bracing himself for impact...

It never came. Instead, he felt himself being lifted back onto his feet. The branches around his ankles vanished and another pink card floated up to him. He stared at it incredulously. Another card that had changed back? He didn't have long to ponder it though, when all of his surroundings suddenly vanished, replaced by the very familiar setting of Penguin Park... Tomoeda.

His surroundings... had been an illusion?

A second pink card joined the first and he laughed. Wherever Sakura was... she was obviously hard at work getting the cards back under her command.

He looked up and frowned... the cards had stopped attacking? He returned the cards he'd summoned to their card form and sneakily made his way in the direction he'd last seen the villains that had started this mess.

As he neared the forest, he dived beneath the giant penguin as he saw a shadowy figure emerging from the bushes. Armed and ready to end this battle once and for all, he waited... then when the person emerged he found himself to stunned to move.

Out from the forest walked Eriol Hiiragizawa, escorted by The Twin. In his arms lie a very unconscious Sakura. Confused, Syaoran didn't know what to do... attack Eriol to save Sakura? But, if she really needed to be rescued, then how was it her cards had been changing back to their original colors?

Toro and Rika appeared from just behind the giant penguin slide, and he thanked his decision to remain stationary. Maybe if he paid attention right now he would find out more about what was going on.

"Your puppet has failed in his mission! He has disobeyed your orders! You must destroy him immediately!" Rika screamed furiously, the two of them had been having fun watching the young chinese man in his duel against the cards. His efforts had all been in vain as the cards seemed to be capable of continuously renewing themselves... and then all of the sudden a few of them had started working against the others! Toro and Rika hadn't missed the fact that where they had been able to see perfectly well in spite of the darkness, suddenly they could not see at all. And now even their illusionary battleground had vanished... there had to be a reason!

Toro just shook his head and waved at her to be silent. He studied Eriol and the comatose Sakura for a moment or two before he frowned thoughtfully.

"Why have you disobeyed me, puppet? I ordered you to kill her." Toro said bluntly, Syaoran clenched his fists to remind himself to stay put. Kill Sakura? Eriol would never do such a thing... would he?

Eriol shrugged and set Sakura down. He reached into his coat pockets and pulled out three red Sakura cards. Syaoran craned his neck to try to see what they were, but to no avail, as the villains were standing right in his view.

"I thought that you would have more fun if I removed these cards from your collection... and conveniently, I thought it would also be more fun for me, if rather than killing her, I used these cards to ensure that she cannot interrupt your fight. After all, even in death a powerful sorcerer or sorceress can still change the fate of events... but in an endless dream..."

Toro smiled wickedly and gestured to his cohort. "You see my dear? It was merely a misunderstanding."

Rika scowled, "I don't see how this solution is any better than the original plan! Death would have been more effective..."

"But Rika dear... using these cards..." Toro said gesturing to the three in Eriol's grasp, "She can't do anything at all. Using these she has been trapped within her own mind. And this card especially..." he said gesturing again, "makes it impossible for her to ever escape."

"Then how is it that the cards are no longer working for us?" She hissed.

Toro looked thoughtful, then shrugged. "Perhaps the chinese boy is doing it. He could do it before, you know."

Rika was unconvinced, but took this tidbit of information in. "And she," she clarified, pointing to the unmoving young woman "_can't _do anything... you're sure?"

Toro nodded confidently, "If she could, I'm sure that my puppet would have done as he was told. Obviously, he was acting on his own, but rather than reprimand him, I think we should congratulate him on thinking of something even more diabolical than myself."

"I thank you for your kind words... but I was only doing my job." Eriol replied tonelessly. "You asked me to insure she could not interfere with your takeover. I have done so. Perhaps not the way you intended, but as you said, my way is just as effective, if not more so."

Toro nodded in agreement then turned back to Rika. "Come my dear, the Li kid is probably getting bored from this lack of fighting. We must keep him entertained."

Rika smiled in agreement and rose her arms. 43 cards rose into the air and their energies blasted outwards in search of the young man they'd just been fighting.

The same young man, who was sharpening his sword as he hid quietly under the giant penguin slide. Waiting for the perfect moment to end this battle once and for all.

* * *

(Dreamworld)

Things were getting decidedly more sticky the deeper Sakura and young Eriol went in this world. The Voice and The Song joined her when Eriol had begun humming a tune. Sakura had joined him after recognizing the tune, and the two of them had appeared, begging her to take them back since they were not violent cards and they really liked her.

The Fly, The Jump, and The Dash had fused together into this terrible flying monster that had tried to take both of their heads off, but Sakura had seen through their rather obvious exterior and simply shined The Hope's power on them to change them back, keeping them all with her just in case she needed them.

Next up, The Cloud, The Freeze, The Snow, and The Windy had joined forces to make her journey nearly impossible... their combined efforts creating a blizzard that could not be traversed through no matter what she did.

Sakura and young Eriol shivered as the enslaught of cold icy snow blasted them from all sides... Sakura could hardly think straight she was so cold. The best she could do was to wrap herself around Eriol and pray something would happen to stop it.

"What do you want?" She cried into the wind. There was no answer... and she was pretty sure the cards hadn't heard her. The wind was blowing far too loudly. She could hardly even hear herself...

"T-t-told y-you t-t-that s-some of t-t-them w-were g-g-going t-to f-f-fight." Eriol chattered.

Sakura sighed, staring at the few cards that she'd kept with them and knowing there was nothing she could do.

"Fire... banish this snowstorm!" Called a voice that Sakura wasn't even sure she'd heard.

That was, until a blazing inferno raced around her and up into the heavens, dissipating the ice and snow. Thankful for the warmth, she looked for their savior as the fire died down. The surprises just never ended in this place...

Walking through the dazed bodies of the cards was _another_ Eriol! This one seemed to be older than the 9 year old currently clutching her dress. In fact... she was pretty sure this was the same Eriol she'd met in Tomoeda that first day of the 5th grade all those years ago.

Wearing his black and gold mage robes, he held the sun staff aloft as he paused beside the two of them, staring in confusion.

"Sakura... how are you... here?" The other Eriol queried in disbelief.

Sakura frowned... could this be the work of The Twin card? But if it was... then this was another test. She had to be careful...

"What do you mean?" She asked for clarification.

The other Eriol looked thoughtful, "Well, I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised you're here. It's just that I haven't had a dream of you in... many years."

Sakura stared, dream? But this was a dream! And... if this new Eriol knew that, and was commenting on it... then he couldn't be a card!

The other Eriol then glanced down to his younger self. "And you..." he trailed off, looking stunned.

Young Eriol stood, removing himself from Sakura's grasp. "You have never met me before."

"What?" Sakura exclaimed in confusion.

The older Eriol nodded in agreement. "But... you are me, correct?"

Sakura felt a little left out of the conversation, but belatedly realized that if she was quiet they might explain what was going on.

Young Eriol turned to her as if reading her mind, "You remember what Clow said? About my having not met him?"

_'But... he had never heard... oh nevermind.'_ Sakura just nodded.

"You took my young dream-self into the future with you... which is why I have aged... but this version of me has _still_ not met Clow... where as this one," he said gesturing to his older self "has been planning to meet you, according to Clow's memories, for years."

"I think I'm lost." Sakura admitted.

The older Eriol looked thoughtful, "Well, I remember that Clow had sealed you away inside of me to keep you safe from his power. He said that too much power was going to hurt me, so he had to lock you away where I couldn't access you, so that I wouldn't hurt myself."

The younger Eriol looked sad, "Yes..."

Sakura was finally putting the pieces together. Little Eriol -past-, who had the key she needed to escape, had been sealed -presently- which was why she had to meet this past version of Eriol... so that she could give the current -future- Eriol the key to unlock his powers. The same powers she'd seen little Eriol exhibit only a few adventures ago.

"Ok." Sakura said, interrupting their early re-union. "But if I need young Eriol to unlock your old powers... then why am I also meeting you?"

The older Eriol frowned and stared at her, "Meeting... me? This is... a dream of the future... isn't it..."

Sakura blinked... this Eriol was lost too? Well at least she wasn't alone. "I'm sorry, I should explain. I am in this place, the dreamworld, to save your future self from ... uh... himself." Well, that explination sucked.

The older Eriol's frown deepened, "A quest... to save..." he blinked slowly, then a new look appeared in his eyes. "But... you like Syaoran!" he stammered.

"I don't see what this has to do with one person liking someone else..." Little Eriol groused, but was interrupted by Sakura who stood at last and took a few cautioned steps towards the older version who was staring at her like she'd grown a second head.

"Eriol-kun... a lot of things have changed since that time in elementary school." She explained meaningfully.

Eriol stood a head shorter than her... but he stared up at her, his eyes flickering with confusion. "You were supposed to be with Syaoran. You chose him... not me." he insisted.

Sakura shook her head and kneeled down to his eye level. "Once, perhaps. But not anymore."

The cards struggled to their feet and watched the scene. They saw The Hope shining brightly in their mistresses pocket and knew her words were true.

"Then I know why I am here..." The older Eriol whispered quietly. "As the only other person who can command Clow's magic... I must help you."

"What? No Eriol, I can't ask you to do that. Your seal will break!" Sakura said firmly, but Eriol just shook his head.

"Sakura, you don't understand. At this age I have complete control over Clow's magic. In my time, you haven't sealed all of the cards under your name yet... and similarly, you have also not sealed them here. There will be more attacks like the one I just extinguished. Some of these cards simply will not listen to your excuses. If I come with you, I can take them down first so that they will listen to you."

"Also, he is a piece of the puzzle. He must come with us in order to restore the real Eriol." Little Eriol added, surprising them both.

Sakura blinked, "To restore?"

Little Eriol nodded, "I represent Eriol's past. The piece of the key I bring him lies in the old magic he was born with, as well as his memories of you before Clow showed up."

"And I represent Eriol's selflessness." The other Eriol said quietly, drawing Sakura's attention to him. "The piece of the key I bring him will be his fond memories of you, back when he was more than willing to give you away if it would have made you happy."

Sakura mulled this over and decided it made sense... she just hoped there weren't to many more Eriol's to find... she was going to start getting confused, especially if Little Eriol aged some more.

The card spirits floated up to the trio and Sakura felt better about the fact that she was going to send them back. With Elementary-school Eriol at her side she wouldn't need any of her cards except The Hope, and possibly The Light. Eriol would take care of the rest.

Little Eriol seemed to agree with this sentiment, although he insisted she at least keep The Fly with her, just in case older Eriol messed up. Older Eriol looked at his younger self in disbelief... how could he believe that _he_ wouldn't protect Sakura! It was ridiculous... but then older Eriol didn't really understand what exactly was going on with this future-rescue anyway, there was definitely something that hadn't been said. Like... why he was the one that was being rescued in the first place.

One look at the very determined Sakura, however, and Eriol realized that perhaps something she had said earlier had something to do with it...

_~Think of me, think of me fondly when we've said goodbye. Remember me, once in a while, please promise me you'll try.~_

* * *

(Tomoeda)

Syaoran hid quietly, waiting for his moment to strike... but it came and left as Toro and Rika eventually decided to split up in search of him. They took half of the remaining cards apiece and disappeared into the district, causing mayhem and distruction everywhere they went as they sent the cards out to hunt for him.

In their absence, he decided to find out just what was going on with Sakura. He crept out from underneath the slide and carefully made his way over to Eriol who was facing away from him. Sword relaxed at his side, he had no intention of fighting the other man, at least not at the moment. Syaoran realized that he needed to understand more about what was going on before he made any hasty decisions like the last time...

"You don't have to be so sneaky, you know. I've known you were there for quite some time." Eriol said as Syaoran approached from behind.

Sheepishly, Syaoran dropped the ninja act and moved to face Eriol directly. "You knew? But you didn't tell the other two?" he asked curiously.

Eriol shrugged, "I have no orders regarding you. I think that those two want to kill you themselves."

Syaoran frowned at this explanation, and glanced at Sakura a moment, then back at Eriol meaningfully. "What have you done to her?" he demanded.

Eriol brought out the three cards he had shown the other two and Syaoran gasped. The Sleep, The Dream and The Time? "You've trapped her in an endless dream?" Syaoran demanded furiously.

Eriol shrugged again, "It was the only way to save her."

Syaoran drew his sword. "You really are just their puppet... release her at once!"

Eriol's eyes flickered with an unreadable emotion, "I cannot do that... it would ruin everything."

"Explain." Syaoran threatened.

"This body is a broken shell. There is very little of my original spirit left within for those two to manipulate. Nevertheless, any portion of my spirit that remains still has some memories, no matter how scattered and disjointed they are. In sending her into a dream that she cannot escape, I have saved her from death... and I am hoping that in return she finds the rest of my spirit and brings it back to me." Eriol explained quietly.

"How can she save you if she can't even move forward?" Syaoran asked in disbelief.

A smile crept onto the other man's features. "The Time is not being used to stop _her_ as I allowed the other two to believe. Rather it is being used to stop my spirit from splitting into even more pieces. I have frozen the largest part of myself inside of her dreamworld. When she brings the smaller pieces together it will be up to her to figure out how to release me from The Time without breaking me apart further."

Syaoran blinked at Eriol's explanation and thought about it. "So then you did defy their orders..."

Eriol glanced down at Sakura, "I was going to do as they said... but there was something, a small voice, telling me to save her instead. I can only hope that she survives the trials the cards have set for her."

"What do the cards have to do with this?" Syaoran asked curiously, he had been wondering how it was they'd been returning to him...

"Inside of the dreamworld lies the spirits of everyone connected to the dreamer. That includes the cards, Sakura's friends and family, you and me. The cards do not want to believe the lies they have been told by the other two in order to change sides... and their spirits have entered the dreamworld leaving the villains with only their shells."

"I've been fighting shells all of this time?" Syaoran blinked.

"Do you think you would have lasted this long if they all had been at their full power?" Eriol smirked.

Syaoran swallowed thickly and decided he didn't want to know the answer to that question. Even as puppets, the cards were a force to be reckoned with.

"Inside the dreamworld they are trying to help Sakura to re-seal them, as well as bring my pieces together. Well... most of them are trying to help, though she may not believe it. She has to conquer their challenges if she ever hopes to escape the combined power of The Sleep and The Dream."

Syaoran nodded, "Well... I can't say I approve of her being stuck in a dream to save you... but since she's re-sealing the cards at the same time I guess I'll back down for now."

"You might, but I will not!"

The female voice startled them both as Rika appeared out of nowhere. Apparently she'd only been pretending to leave... Syaoran drew his weapon in defense.

"I knew you were lying to us! I am not so easily bamboozled! Just you wait until Toro hears about this, he will put you back to sleep... permanently!" Rika screeched with glee, brandishing the 14 cards remaining in her possession. "I am going to kill you all... then the cards will return to us and chaos will reign!"

Syaoran stepped forward as the cards energies swarmed towards him, blasting them back with the cards that had changed sides...

"Sakura... please hurry." He whispered under his breath.

* * *

__

**~Rozu**


	10. The Final Test

Re-Broken

Disclaimer: I love CCS... but I don't own it. :( Oh, and I don't own Phantom of the Opera either.

- A change in writing style/time/place/whatever (will notate in () which one if necessary)

Rating: T

Summary: A new enemy is trying to break Sakura's spirit in order to weaken her enough to steal her cards from her. Everyone around her seems to be turning cruel... and the only solace she can find is in the arms of the man she never expected.

Pairings: Syaoran/Sakura, Sakura/Eriol

* * *

(Chapter 17.5: The Final Test)

The cards appeared ever more frequently as the trio traversed through the land of dreams. Sakura was getting a little worn out... but as they went she realized she felt even more strongly about their mission. Sakura thanked her lucky stars that the youngest Eriol did not in fact continue to age... though she did wonder why he wasn't.

After a particularly difficult battle against The Mist, The Sand, and The Shadow, Sakura finally understood what lesson she was supposed to be learning from this adventure.

_'I love everyone so much... but I'm still here because I love Eriol the most...'_

Directly following this realization, they met The Glow and The Change, who joined them without a fight. The Sword, The Storm, The Power, and The Fight were holding yet another Eriol hostage, this one was the oldest yet of the three... and apparently represented Eriol's true feelings towards Sakura.

Unlike the other two, he seemed to be rather knowledgeable about this place and her mission, glancing at her every now and then as though trying to figure out something about her demeanor.

At last, they came to a volcano with a lava river much like the one Sakura had first crossed in order to come to this world in the first place. The Firey and The Earthy lurked near the Volcano in their true forms, flanked by The Thunder, and The Arrow. Closing in on them from above was The Shot, followed by The Twin.

The young and old Eriol went forward at once and fought The Twin in perfect unison despite their age difference. Sakura summoned the Shield to avoid being hit by The Shot's and The Arrow's projectiles while middle Eriol summoned Clow's amazing power to take down The Create, which was currently spawning monsters at them from across the lava river.

Together the four of them resealed the most devastating of Sakura's cards, Sakura showing them her determination with The Hope the same way she had shown the others.

Sakura cheered happily. There were only four cards left missing! Little and young Eriol shared in her enthusiasm, but elder Eriol was solemn.

"Now comes the most difficult part... are you sure you are ready?" he asked quietly.

She beamed, giving him the thumbs up, "Nothing can beat the four of us combined!"

Elder Eriol didn't smile, "This battle is yours to fight... alone. We cannot help you."

"Hoe?" Sakura blinked.

"Don't worry Sakura-san, I'm sure that whatever it is, you can do it!" Younger Eriol comforted.

"Yeah, nothing can beat you!" Little Eriol agreed.

"Eheh... yeah you're right!" Sakura grinned then, star wand gripped tightly in her hands she made her way up the volcano, the three Eriol's trailing behind.

At the top, she met the most curious sight. The Sleep and The Dream stood like sentinels beside the floating body of a fifth Eriol. This one, Sakura immediately recognized as the most current one... and she nearly cried. He was floating in midair just behind them, glowing in a strange golden light that looked suspiciously like the work of The Time card.

The Dream stepped forward as the four approached. "You have done well getting this far, mistress. However, all of what has occurred will have meant nothing if you cannot use what you have learned to free this young man from Time's bindings."

"Why don't you just let him go?" Sakura demanded.

The Sleep shook it's head. "If we do that you will never be able to repair him."

"You cannot leave here as long as he remains in pieces. This is, after all, his world." The Dream continued.

Sakura blinked, "I thought this was my world?"

"Your mind has created this place, true enough... but it was his scattered thoughts that have made your journey through it possible." The Dream explained.

Sakura reeled, "Ok, whatever... let me through."

The Sleep and The Dream stepped aside to allow her passage. She stepped forward, and was at a loss for words temporarily. His eyes were closed... but he looked so tormented. Young Eriol seemed to be the most affected by his elder self's troubles. "Please do not leave me like this..." he begged quietly. The other two nodded their agreement to his sentiments.

Sakura nodded as well, "I won't. I promise."

She stood beside the body that was frozen in time and reached out to take his hand. She was immediately repelled by a barrier. She withdrew in annoyance and glanced helplessly at the other three. How could she help him if she couldn't get near him?

Little and Young Eriol stepped forward. Young Eriol drew out the sun staff and held it aloft before him. Little Eriol touched the staff near it's base, changing it into a golden version of the staff with the heart and star. Together, they summoned all of their strength, their power spiraling upwards around them in a tornado of energy. Above current Eriol's body, the sealing circle with the star and heart appeared, the barrier revealing itself as it strained against the combined might of both Clow and Eriol's magic. Sakura then drew her own staff and added her power to theirs, and in seconds, the barrier disappeared. The swirling energy swept up both little, and young Eriol. Together they vanished, their energies draining into the current Eriol's inert body.

Sakura reached forward again and found no barrier this time. She wrapped her hand around Eriol's and bowed her head.

"Eriol-kun... onegai..." she took a deep breath, got her thoughts together, and lifted her head once more to look directly into his closed eyes.

"What happened outside of the theater... no... wait, this is deeper than that. What has happened to us since those two strange people began interfering with our lives... " Sakura paused again, her forehead scrunched up in thought.

"I'm not saying this right." She laughed, tears running down her cheeks. "I think though, that you blame yourself for not knowing that we were being manipulated... just the same as I was after I heard what Toro said. But it's neither your fault nor mine that any of this happened. I think that, even if Toro and Rika had never existed, somehow this was going to happen anyway. Not this fight, I mean... but this change... in myself, in yourself."

The remaining Eriol listened quietly as she spoke to his more current form. Dressed still in Raoul's costume, he looked like a sleeping prince, and Sakura, the heroic princess come to the rescue. It was kind of comical, this setting... but Eriol wasn't laughing. He listened to the words Sakura spoke, the feeling with which she was speaking them... something flickered within him...

"What I'm trying to say is... that even though I have no way of knowing whether or not any of this would have changed if they hadn't interfered... well, the thing is... I don't care what _would have happened_ or not. What matters is what has happened, and that I wouldn't change any of it, even if I had the choice."

_~Past the point of no return _  
_No backward glances _  
_Our games of make-believe are at an end. _

_Past all thought of "if" or "when" _  
_No use resisting _  
_Abandon thought and let the dream descend _

_What raging FIRE shall flood the soul _  
_What rich desire unlocks it's door _  
_What sweet seduction lies before us? _

_Past the point of no return _  
_The final threshold _  
_What warm unspoken secrets _  
_Will we learn _  
_Beyond the point of no return?~_

Eldest Eriol closed his eyes. He felt in his heart her sincerity, he understood in his mind that she had meant every word that she said. Even as he questioned her judgment in closing her heart to the past... he believed in his soul that somehow this had been meant-to-be.

As she leaned forward and kissed his unmoving lips, the extra Eriol vanished, his essence too being absorbed into the main one... the golden glow of the time faded away and the remaining cards smiled as his spirit sunk to the ground once more.

They left to rejoin their cards in the real world without their mistress' permission, allowing her some private time alone with Eriol.

Slowly, his spirit awoke, blinking at her in confusion.

"What... happened?"

She smiled and without another word, she kissed him again.

* * *

(Tomoeda)

As fast as Rika sent out her cards against them, they shifted back to their original colorings. Eriol and Syaoran were pleased by this, it meant the battle was coming to an end at last.

Syaoran readied himself for a final blow when suddenly Toro appeared and blasted them with his own dark powers.

"This cannot be happening!" He bellowed as his cards flew away from his as well. "You have defied me, puppet, and you will pay with your life!"

Faster than Syaoran could see, Toro flashed behind him and grabbed Sakura, summoning a blade made of purely dark energy to press against her neck as Syaoran lunged forward. "You come any closer and she dies." Toro threatened.

"Release her at once!" Syaoran shouted in frustration. Eriol's body just stared, his brow furrowed. If Toro broke her dream-state now...

Rika just cackled. "Yes! Destroy her!"

"I have a better idea." Toro rumbled, drawing his only remaining card. Syaoran and Eriol both stared in horror.

The Return card glowed menacingly. "That's right peasant... just when you think you've won, I'm going to send you back. Make you start all over. You cannot win this battle... I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!"

Syaoran drew as much elemental energy to himself as he could... but he just wasn't fast enough to stop Toro as he summoned The Return's power on them...

And everything went white.

__

**~Rozu**


	11. The Return

Re-Broken

Disclaimer: I love CCS... but I don't own it. :( Oh, and I don't own Phantom of the Opera either.

- A change in writing style/time/place/whatever (will notate in () which one if necessary)

Rating: T

Summary: A new enemy is trying to break Sakura's spirit in order to weaken her enough to steal her cards from her. Everyone around her seems to be turning cruel... and the only solace she can find is in the arms of the man she never expected.

Pairings: Syaoran/Sakura, Sakura/Eriol

AN: Kekeke~ I'm so evil. XD Thank you all for your reviews, they feed my inspiration. :3

AN#2: BTW, for those of you that went back and actually read Broken... things are going to start looking... familiar? :3

* * *

(Chapter 18.5: The Return)

_Briiiing_

The small pink alarm clock was one of the few things that hadn't changed in Sakura Kinomoto's bedroom over the last few years. The 16 year old turned over in her bed and reached over to smack the offensive object so that it'd stop making such a racket.

"Sakura! Wake up!" Squealed a small yellow plush-like creature as it fluttered over to her.

"Five more minutes Kero." The auburn-haired girl responded as she rolled over to avoid the sound of his voice.

An annoyed frown found it's way onto the tiny guardian's face, "SAKURA GET UP!" He shouted causing the girl to sit up in annoyance.

"What could you possibly want that can't wait five minutes?" She asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"You're going to be late!" He said, pointing at the tiny clock.

Sakura's emerald eyes scanned the metallic instrument for a moment before she shrieked and dived out of her bed.

"Arg! Kero why didn't you wake me up sooner!" She cried frantically, trying in vain to grab everything she needed to wear.

The yellow guardian sighed, "I tried..."

His words went unnoticed by the young woman as she snatched her brush from the shelf and began running it through her shoulder-length hair, which she'd been allowing to grow.

She stared at her reflection, and paused for a moment as she observed her appearance in the mirror. Something was different about her today... but what? She tilted her head and then turned to stare around her room... but nothing was giving her a clue.

_'I must be imagining things'_ she thought as she grabbed all of her school supplies which, overnight, had managed to get themselves scattered all across her room, shoved them into her pink backpack with miniature wings on it (a bigger version of the one she'd had in elementary school), and dashed out of the room with her socks and shoes in hand.

"Good morning!" She greeted cheerily as she made her way to the table, her father just having finished setting down that mornings breakfast. Which, as she noticed it, turned out to be eggs, bacon, and toast.

"Late morning." Responded her, ever self-absorbed older brother. Who, though had a perfect life being a doctor and a perfect partner with Yukito, still found the time to come over once in a while for breakfast and tease her.

"It's _good_ morning." She responded with an annoyed glare. As her brother continued to eat, Sakura frowned to herself... all of this seemed so familiar. But then again, she'd had this conversation a million times with her brother in the past...

_'Yes... there's nothing wierd going on.'_ She nodded to herself.

Touya just grinned back and wiped his face. "Well... it was nice having breakfast with you, monster... I guess I'll be going off to work now." He said rising to his feet.

"What really? You're leaving so soon?" Sakura asked in a whiny tone of voice, forgetting for the moment that he'd just insulted her.

"If you had woken up earlier you could have spent more time with me, but I guess your big brother's not as important as your beauty sleep. And honestly, if I looked like you, I'd sleep as much as I could." He said casually, grabbing his coat from the rack.

That time he'd found a weak spot, Sakura's face contorting with rage. "You, big... MEANY!" She shrieked at him, glaring as hard as she could.

"To-ya, are you being mean to Sakura?" Asked a soft, lilting voice from just on the other side of the door.

Immediately Sakura's face lit up and she rushed past her older brother who had opened the door just enough for her to get through.

"Yukito!" She chirped happily as she gave him a huge hug.

"Good morning, Sakura." He replied with his usual gentle smile.

"Good morning..." Sakura trailed, drawing his attention immediately.

"What's up?" He asked in a whisper, his silver eyes flashing with concern.

Sakura just shook her head and smiled, "It's nothing, nevermind." Yukito looked unconvinced, but Sakura just flashed him her usual confident smile.

"Well... if you're sure..." Yukito returned her smile.

Touya grinned as the two friends hugged, stepping out of the house. "Now... don't you owe me an apology?" He asked curiously.

Sakura turned to him and stuck out her tongue. "No! You're the one that insulted me!" She said, burying her face in Yukito's shirt.

"Now, now Sakura... you know To-ya didn't mean it. That's just his way of showing his feelings." Yukito said with a smile, gently pushing her off of him.

Sakura sighed and nodded, turning to glance at Touya who didn't quite manage to hide his grin. "Yeah, I know... I just wish he weren't so mean all the time. See you guys later I guess, I'm going to be so late!" She squealed as she glanced at the watch Yukito had given her all those years ago.

"Have a nice day Sakura!" Yukito called after her.

"Try not to break everything once you get there, monster!" Touya jeered, earning himself an annoyed glare from the quickly retreating Sakura.

She spun around and stuck her tongue out at him, then finished her spin, heading away from them.

* * *

She reached the school without any further mishaps, enjoying the scenery on the way as she always did. When she approached and Tomoyo greeted her, she responded in the appropriate manner, but as they headed towards the classroom she chose to confide in her closest friend.

"Hey, Tomoyo..." Sakura trailed as they walked.

Tomoyo smiled and tilted her head. "What is it, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura frowned thoughtfully, "Do you feel strange at all?"

Tomoyo laughed, "That's not usually my department... why, what's up?"

"Its just that... I've been having this weird sense of... déjà vu. Like I've lived this day already." Sakura explained.

Tomoyo looked thoughtful, "Could it be The Time again?"

Sakura shook her head, "It can't be any of my cards... I haven't summoned any of them in a long time..."

"Oh... well maybe Syaoran will know, we should call him after class." Tomoyo suggested.

Sakura looked relieved and nodded. "Of course, if this day is really repeating then he will have felt it too."

As they walked into the classroom, Sakura spotted Syaoran sitting in his usual seat, waving at her like a maniac.

She smiled brilliantly in response. He was back from Hong Kong! She crossed the classroom and he pulled her into a hug, which she more than readily returned... but as she stood there in his embrace, she realized something was wrong.

_'What... what's going on here?'_ She thought blankly, almost not hearing Syaoran's greeting.

"Good morning Sakura, I've missed you." He whispered against her auburn head.

"H-hai... Syaoran. I missed you too." Sakura replied, looking up at him.

One look at her face and his own smile faltered. "What is it?" He asked seriously.

"I... I don't know..." She confessed, frowning. Nothing was going right today, first the déjà vu and now this. Sakura couldn't place it, but there was just something missing. Something important.

"Alright class take your seats." said their teacher as she entered the room, drawing their attention to the front. Obediently, the three sat down, Sakura's brow furrowed in thought.

"Now class, today a new exchange student will be joining us." The teacher said to the class. The students immediately began whispering amoungst themselves with excitement wondering who this mistery student.

Sakura just stared... a new student? Normally, she would be the first to gossip and be excited about the idea of meeting someone new... but not this time. This time Sakura was pretty sure she knew who would walk through that door...

Sure enough, sauntering into the room was none other than the enchanting Englishman himself.

Sakura stared at the young man who casually stepped in front of the classroom, his shoulder-length midnight-blue hair framing his face. His bangs brushed barely far enough to the side to avoid hiding his ocean-blue eyes which were already hiding behind a decidedly more fashionable pair of eyeglass-wear than he was notorious for back in elementary school.

Sakura's heart pounded in her chest as Eriol winked at her from the front of the class. She felt her cheeks get hot as she stared at him. He saw her blush and raised a curious eyebrow, but she couldn't answer his question...

She couldn't hear anything... and nothing that was being said made any sense at all. What was this feeling coursing through her? It was like someone had lit her on fire. Sure, she knew what it felt like to love someone... at least... she thought she did. This feeling though... it was so powerful and so sudden that it had taken her completely by surprise. _'What has gotten into me?'_ She thought idly as he walked over to sit in a nearby desk.

"Are you alright?" He whispered to her as the teacher began the lesson.

"H-hai..." she replied briskly, and set herself immediately to taking notes. A definate first for her, since she was notorious for doodling and daydreaming rather than paying attention. Sakura far preferred sports to academics.

Later on, Syaoran demanded an explanation as to Eriol's presence, Tomoyo defended Eriol... Syaoran apologized, and the four of them shared lunch together in peace.

But all along, Sakura only barely kept her strange new feelings in check, hoping neither one of them caught on to her random blushes and her difficulty speaking, passing it off as lack of sleep affecting her brain. Kero seconded this after revealing himself in her bag, going on a long rant about how Sakura needed to stop staying up so late and how important it was for her to be able to be prepared at a moment's notice in case something went wrong.

* * *

**_CTRL+C, CTRL+V. :3 _**

**_Sorry for the repetition guys... but if you read within you will notice a few changes I made... XD_**

__

**~Rozu**


	12. Echoes of the future

Re-Broken

Disclaimer: I love CCS... but I don't own it. :( Oh, and I don't own Phantom of the Opera either.

- A change in writing style/time/place/whatever (will notate in () which one if necessary)

Rating: T

Summary: A new enemy is trying to break Sakura's spirit in order to weaken her enough to steal her cards from her. Everyone around her seems to be turning cruel... and the only solace she can find is in the arms of the man she never expected.

Pairings: Syaoran/Sakura, Sakura/Eriol

* * *

(Chapter 19.5: Echoes of the future)

"So you think that The Time is making us repeat this day?" Syaoran clarified, the four of them walked together in companionable silence.

"Hai... but that's impossible, right?" Sakura asked curiously.

Syaoran shrugged, "Well the last time that happened even I knew what was going on... I don't get that feeling this time."

Eriol looked thoughtful, "And anyways Sakura... The Time is under your power now, it shouldn't be giving you any more trouble."

"Could it be another card? Like The Nothing... that you forgot about Eriol-kun?" Tomoyo asked, stars in her eyes. She obviously wanted nothing more than to video tape Sakura capturing the cards again.

Eriol shook his head, and Tomoyo's face fell a moment... then something caught her eye and she turned away from them with renewed enthusiasm.

"Hey everyone... come and look here!" Tomoyo called over to Sakura and the others. She was standing in front of the bulletin board just outside of the lunchroom and was pointing at a large black poster with the familiar picture of a white mask and red rose beneath it.

"It says here on this poster that the drama club is presenting Phantom of the Opera this year. Why don't we try out?" She bubbled enthusiastically as Sakura and the two boys perused the poster.

_'Phantom of the Opera? Again...?'_ Sakura was almost positive they'd done it in the past...

"I dunno Tomoyo... I'm not much of an actor." Syaoran muttered.

"Sure you are Syaoran! Don't you remember the wonderful job you did as the princess in Sleeping Beauty? Or the prince in that play that Naoko wrote?" Tomoyo prodded, her eyes shining like stars as she stared at him.

"Uh... well, I guess I could try out." He said compromisingly, never being one to say no to that, sometimes evil, smile of hers, which she beamed at him graciously at his acceptance.

"Sakura?"

Sakura frowned and stared at the poster. "Didn't... didn't the drama club already do The Phantom of the Opera?"

Tomoyo shook her head, "Of course not! They don't repeat plays for at least 5 years! Come on Sakura, say that you'll audition!"

Sakura nodded, but her heart wasn't in it.

"Déjà vu?" Eriol whispered to Sakura as Tomoyo grabbed Syaoran and started commenting on what a fine Raoul he would make.  
"Hai..." Sakura confirmed. This was starting to freak her out.

"Hmm... maybe you should come over later on." Eriol suggested.

"Eh?" Sakura blushed.

Eriol laughed at her reaction, "I only want to help you figure this out Sakura... if you come over I can show you how to use the cards to read the future. Maybe they know what's going on."

"Oh... o-okay." She stammered, thought she didn't feel particularly relieved. In fact, she felt very strangely indeed about the prospect of going over to his house.

* * *

Later on, the four of them agreed to meet in the auditorium the next day.

Syaoran offered to walk her home, but Sakura declined his offer.

"Sorry... I'm kind of going over to Eriol's first." She said quietly.

Syaoran blinked, but resisted the automatic surge of jealousy that attempted to cloud his mind. "Should I come along?"

"Nah... he's going to show me how to divine with the cards... see if they know anything. It probably won't take very long, and I wouldn't want you to be bored." Sakura explained.

Syaoran stared at her a moment. _'Is she... making excuses? No, I must be reading too much into this.'_ "Alright... but I'll be at your house first thing tomorrow to walk with you to school." He teased.

Sakura sweat dropped but didn't argue. "Ok, see you tomorrow!"

Syaoran waved as she left to meet with Eriol who was standing not far from the two of them. He let them walk out of sight before he decided he wanted to follow them.

He might believe Eriol wasn't up to anything like he was the last time he'd been in town, but there was just something in Sakura's manner that told him to spy on her and make sure that nothing else happened while she was alone with the Englishman.

Eriol unlocked the door and motioned for her to go inside, following her soon after. His new mansion had been built in a different section of town this time. (The place where the last mansion had stood was now overrun by a theme park.)

Sakura was doing everything in her power to act normal... but she was having a hard time, especially when he did things like open the door for her, remove her coat and place it on the coat hanger. The lightest touch, the most neutral of glances... her senses overwhelmed her. Like she was seeing him for the very first time. And found him incredibly attractive...

"Alright, why don't you sit down and take out the cards." Eriol said, gesturing to the couch.

Sakura sat where he pointed and did as instructed. He reached forward and took the cards, showing her how to shuffle them. Sakura's heart was pounding so loud she could hardly hear his instructions.

Every time his fingers swept against hers...

"Sakura... are you listening?" Eriol asked patiently.

"H-hai... you shuffle them like this right?" Sakura repeated.

"Yes... now think of the question you want them to answer. Picture it in your mind."

_'What's going on here... why am I feeling this way?'_ Eriol's face flickered before her eyes, and she drew the cards, placing them face down on the table as Eriol instructed her.

"Now turn them over like this..."

She stared at the cards that sat on the table... then turned over the last ones as instructed. When they were all facing upwards they glowed in unison, and they showed her the answer to her questions.

She saw everything. All of the days that had led up to this one, how she'd been deceived, how she had relied upon Eriol to give her the strength she could not find in herself.

_"What I'm trying to say is... that even though I have no way of knowing whether or not any of this would have changed if they hadn't interfered... well, the thing is... I don't care what would have happened or not. What matters is what has happened, and that I wouldn't change any of it, even if I had the choice."_

She wouldn't change... she couldn't change...

"Sakura?"

Sakura blinked as Eriol shook her back to reality. "What did you see?"

She stared at him in shock... was this... was this a part of the test somehow?

"Eriol-kun..." She trailed. It couldn't be the truth... could it? Perhaps everything before had only been a dream. A horrible dream of things to come... that would happen again the same way if she didn't stop it.

There was only one way to find out... without answering his questions, she looked through her deck.

_'But how can this be a dream if I feel this way around Eriol...? How can this be real if no one else knows it but me?'_

She found the card she was looking for and stared in shock.

Eriol hovered over her shoulder, also at a loss for words.

The Return card was blank. The spirit's picture was not within the magical bindings...

'Then this... all of this is just like when I visited Clow...'

The villains had made a mistake... a huge mistake. The Return would not keep them in this era forever... only until Sakura completed her quest. This rewinding of time was temporary, but everything would move forward in exactly the same way until she figured out what The Return wanted her to do.

Sakura also knew why she was the only one that knew what was going on. The Return had only returned her. The real Eriol and Syaoran were still in the future... frozen in time until she sealed the card. The Syaoran and Eriol of this time had no idea what was about to happen...  
Syaoran still loved her... and as far as he knew, she still loved him. How could she break this to him?

"The Return... Sakura... what does this mean?" Eriol asked quietly behind her startling her.

She stared up at him, unable to answer him. How could she profess her love to him right now? It was impossible. He'd never believe her... and more than that, Syaoran would never recover...

"You know what, I think I'm too tired from school to figure this out right now." Sakura invented quickly, putting away her cards as fast as she could. Eriol stared at her in confusion as she flashed him a brilliantly fake smile. "I'm going to go home and rest... then maybe while I'm sleeping an answer will come to me."

"Are... you certain?" Eriol asked her slowly, his grey eyes searching hers.

"Hai, sorry for wasting your time." Sakura said brightly then whisked herself out of his house, thanking him for everything.

"You're... welcome... I guess." Eriol muttered to himself as she disappeared.

* * *

Syaoran was sitting on a bench as Sakura walked home. She was so deep in thought she didn't see him as she passed.

"Sakura!" He called out to her with a bright smile, hopping up to join her.

She came out of her trance and blinked at him, smiling nervously. "Hey..." she responded, then she realized they were nowhere near his apartment complex. "Did you... wait for me?" She asked him incredulously.

"Kind of." He admitted sheepishly, falling into step beside her. "I guess my day just isn't complete unless I walk you home."

Sakura managed a strained smile, "Heh... is that so?" _'What am I going to tell him?'_

"Well... no not really." Syaoran confessed with a smile. "I was spying on you while you were over at Eriol's."

Sakura stopped walking, frozen in place, a look of pure disbelief on her features.

Syaoran sweatdropped. _'Why did I tell her that?'_ "I mean... I trust you and all, but you know I'm not comfortable with you... and him... alone..." he stammered. Well, that wasn't true at all...

Sakura didn't seem to notice the lie though. Still in her state of shock she stammered, "You... you spied on us?"

Syaoran moved immediately to take hold of her, reaching his arms out to comfort her. "I'm really sorry... I couldn't help it."

Suddenly Sakura's face flashed from stoic to angry. She stepped out of the reach of his arms, her emerald eyes glinting with fury. "You _SPIED_ on us?" She demanded.

Syaoran threw up his hands in surrender, "Hey, at least I told you the truth..."

"Yeah, but you lied to me _first._ And I can't believe you spied on me! How could you do that Syaoran? Don't you trust me at all?" Sakura shouted. It was an ironic conversation... that she'd been contemplating only moments before how to best break his heart, but now she was demanding from him that he trust her...

Syaoran took a step back. His face reflected his surprise at this outcome. "I... I'm sorry." He managed.

Sakura's eyes teared and she shook her head, "After all of these years... you have no excuse. I might have accepted this from you once, but how can you expect me to now? I'm sorry isn't good enough Syaoran. I'm very disappointed in you." She said, then she stormed off past him.

"Sakura!" He called after her in alarm.

"Don't follow me." She snapped. He obediently froze in mid-step, watching her stomp off in horror. _'What have I done?'_

_

* * *

_Sakura stomped through the front door of her house without a comment, removing her shoes as she went.

"Welcome home monster." Her brother cajoled from the kitchen. When she didn't answer, he came out from behind the stove, ready with yet another witty remark when he saw the dour look on her face. He nearly dropped the pan he was holding. His little sister was... angry? She was _never_ angry! There was only one explanation.

"That kid..." Touya muttered under his breath as Sakura passed by without a word of greeting. And suddenly Touya wanted nothing more in that moment that to hunt down the brunet and beat him to a pulp. No one could do whatever the kid had done to _his_ sister and get away with it!

He paced around the kitchen for the next few hours contemplating all the most painful ways of killing someone he'd ever watched on TV. Sometime after dinner someone knocked at the door, and Touya found himself face to face with the person he'd been fantasizing about murdering all afternoon.

"Go away." Touya growled at the somber looking brunet.

Syaoran held a bouquet of roses loosely in one hand, giving Touya his best exasperated glance. "Please, let me talk to her." he requested firmly, seemingly undeterred by the menace in the older man's voice.

Touya, in spite of all the murderous imaginings he'd been doing earlier, saw the deep sorrow reflecting in Syaoran's brown eyes and just couldn't bring himself to kick the boy off their property.

"Look kid, I can see that you feel bad about this... and I can appreciate that. But you need to leave, now, before I do something Sakura might not like..." Touya replied, unmoving.

Syaoran's eyes flashed with annoyance, "This is not your problem... can't you keep your nose out of Sakura's business for five seconds?" he demanded. He immediately regretted his rash words when Touya's facial features hardened, and he caught a glimse of the fury that the older man was just barely holding in check.

"This is OUR home, kid. That means its MY territory. As long as you've got your feet on that ground, you agree to MY rules, or bad things are going to happen. All I know right now is, my sister came home angry. _Angry!_ Now, I never liked you, kid, but I held my tongue before because whenever I saw Sakura with you she was always happy. I have an obligation as her older brother to make sure that things like... whatever this is... _don't _happen to my baby sister! Therefore, since it seems you are no longer making my sister happy, you are no longer welcome on my turf. You want to talk to her that badly? Do it at school, do it after school... if Sakura is kind enough to forgive you for whatever it is that you did, then great, but until Sakura's smile returns, you are not welcome here." Touya said furiously, pointing a single finger towards the gate.

And though he knew he could easily defeat Sakura's brother in a fight if it had to come to one... Syaoran realized that Touya would rather die to keep him out of his house than let him hurt Sakura further right under their roof. Syaoran's pride was pierced by the realization that he had to respect Touya for that much at least, if nothing else...

"Hai..." Syaoran replied, defeated. He turned and left without another argument. Touya steamed over the argument for a while after the brunet had left, but ultimately calmed down when he patted himself on the back for not killing the foreign pipsqueak outright.

'Yuki would be proud.' He mused.

* * *

_**~Rozu**_


	13. The Sunrise

Re-Broken

Disclaimer: I love CCS... but I don't own it. :( Oh, and I don't own Phantom of the Opera either.

- A change in writing style/time/place/whatever (will notate in () which one if necessary)

Rating: T

Summary: A new enemy is trying to break Sakura's spirit in order to weaken her enough to steal her cards from her. Everyone around her seems to be turning cruel... and the only solace she can find is in the arms of the man she never expected.

Pairings: Syaoran/Sakura, Sakura/Eriol

* * *

(Chapter 20.5: The Sunrise)

As though she were walking in her own shadow, Sakura watched the days pass as though she weren't herself. It was like someone had taken a movie reel of what had happened the first time... and then pasted over it with what was happening this time. The only marked differences were that her cards weren't disappearing from her in conjunction with how her heart had begun to waver... but she supposed that was because this wasn't really _exactly_ the same. She'd not been in love with Eriol the first time, for one thing...

She had somehow found herself sitting in an unused corner of the school. She had remembered seeing it during her flashback... this was where she had gone to cry after she'd had been arguing with Syaoran for about a week over the most stupid of things. It seemed like the best place to hide from Tomoyo's questioning glances and Syaoran's incessant apologies. There was nothing she could say to Tomoyo, short of telling her the whole story (about how she was from the future), and she'd decided that telling Syaoran that he had nothing to be sorry about (because she'd been intending to break up with him anyways) would be the wrong way to solve her problem. (He would then have to assume she had forgiven him, which would definitely give him the wrong idea...)

As she realized this, she remembered what else had happened during that afternoon. How Eriol had come over to comfort her and tell her everything was going to be alright...

Curious, she lifted her head to see if she could spot him. Sure enough she saw him approaching her from a distance and she had to bite her lip to force down what would have been an embarrassing show of affection for the guy who hardly knew she existed. (At least, that was how Sakura was treating the situation at the moment.)

He looked troubled as he approached her, and she was glad she'd resisted smiling... obviously this was going to be a serious conversation.

"May I join you?" He asked quietly, not meeting her curious gaze.

"Absolutely." She replied, scooting over on the grass.

Eriol sighed heavily, then lifted his eyes to meet hers. Sakura was undone... she could see it in his eyes. She didn't know how he'd figured it out... but...

"I thought for a long time about the cards you drew. At first I didn't understand them because their message wasn't directed at me and I didn't know the question you'd asked. But, as time has passed I've realized that there is definately something different about you, and it has been different since _before_ we read them..." Eriol paused, his grey eyes reflected his astonishment and disbelief, "Sakura... this fight you are having with Syaoran right now is entirely contrived, isn't it?" It wasn't a question.

"That's..." Sakura really didn't know what to say to that.

Eriol's eyes focused on hers, as though looking for something. "What I cannot fathom, however, is when you had the time to... " he paused again, looking slightly uncomfortable, "fall in love... with me."

Sakura blushed a deep red, but met his questioning gaze without faltering. "You recall that The Return card was not within it's bindings..."

Eriol nodded.

"I... I am from the future." Sakura stammered. "All of this... I've already lived it once."

Eriol looked thoughtful, "So then, in this future... we..." Sakura was pretty sure she'd never seen Eriol this uncomfortable before. She almost laughed when a faint blushed graced his cheeks as he considered what she'd said.

"what about... Syaoran?" Eriol managed.

Sakura sighed and shook her head, "It may look to you like I can save our relationship with things as they are now... but I can't change what happened Eriol, not even with The Return card... and I can't afford to believe that there might be some way to rewrite destiny. For better or for worse, things are as they are... I am not looking back anymore."

Eriol frowned, "It sounds like you gave up before you even tried..."

Sakura blinked at him in disbelief. How could he say such a thing? Then she thought about it and realized that this Eriol still believed with all of his heart that she and Syaoran had been meant for each other. This Eriol still believed that he was the odd one out and always would be. This Eriol was the one that had no faith in himself and no intention of forcing himself on the woman who was already taken by another.

"It wouldn't be any different than what you did." She fired back smartly, catching him off guard.

"I don't know what you mean..." He trailed in surprise as she got to her feet. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes and raised her eyebrows. A shiver rippled down his spine at her glance... she motioned for him to stand and he did so swiftly, as though he were just a marionette on her strings.

"You've loved me your whole life... but you never once said anything to me." Sakura grinned foxily, walking around him slowly in a semi circle.

Eriol backed up as she closed in on him, shock written clearly on his features. How could she know that? "What?"

She backed him against the school wall and her grin widened, "Don't be modest now, Eriol. I understand of course why you never told me. You met me after I'd already sealed the cards. You saw how much Syaoran cared for me and you decided to give him enough time to tell me how he felt. And back in elementary school I was pretty clueless. It would have been unsporting of you to tell me you loved me the minute you came into my life when your competition was so obviously not as capable."

"My purpose at that time was to get you to seal the cards under your own name. I must confess that if that hadn't taken up all of my spare time, I might have used some of it to woo you." Eriol replied sheepishly, slowly beginning to realize that Sakura really did know everything and that denying what she said was the truth would be pretty much pointless.

"But then you let your competition win, didn't you? You gave up." Sakura taunted.

"That's not entirely true... I waited too long, yes... but then you were happy with him. Are you telling me I should have troubled you with the fact I loved you right after you'd already decided you loved him?" Eriol asked incredulously.

"Hmm... doesn't sound like you tried very hard to me. Sounds like you just let things be as they were and walked away."

"But, Sakura!" He argued.

"And that's exactly what I am doing." Sakura interrupted.

"It's not the same as giving up. You chose to leave me alone because you knew chasing me would have you going in circles and you wanted to walk forward. I cannot patch things up with Syaoran because it would be like going in circles and I want to walk forward too."

Eriol shivered as his logic was broken. He stared at Sakura in a new light. "Then... you really do love me."

She smiled and leaned closer to him. "You have no idea."

Eriol's pulse quickened and his heart pounded. Could this be real? "Show me."

She kissed him.

* * *

(The present)

Reality shattered and time flew forward. Sakura reeled as it passed through her, like a powerful wind that was trying to tear her clear off the sidewalk...

When things had settled again, she found herself floating in Christine's outfit above a strange scene. The two baddies were standing on one side, Toro with The Return in his left hand. The picture-side facing a horror-striken looking Eriol, an angry looking Syaoran, and an unconcious version of herself.

She blinked as she realized time was still frozen.

"So what now?" Sakura blinked at Eriol's spirit as he spoke her thoughts. He grinned at her as she stared at him dumbfounded. He floated before her in his Raoul outfit, carrying himself with the manner of a person who was more than ready for whatever was about to happen.

Slowly, she realized she must have passed The Return's test... since she was back in the present. She went through the things Clow Reed had said to her at the beginning of this dream journey. 1) Collect Eriol's Spirit... check. [This she'd done inside of the dream world] 2) Collect all the cards... hmm, not quite, the Return still wasn't under her command. 3) Find a way back to the real world... check. [This she'd accomplished in the world of the past]

So then, it seemed she still needed to find a way to capture The Return and get time to start moving again. She pulled The Hope out of her pocket and showed it to him. "Think this will work the way it did on the others?"

Eriol studied the card a moment then slowly shook his head. "I think we're going to need more than hope to prove to The Return we're ready for the future."

Sakura thought about what she'd learned throughout this mess. Well... what did she know had come from this? Her love of Eriol was an obvious answer. _'And of course I love Eriol now because those two destroyed my love for Syaoran.' _And her cards had run from her because she had begun to fall into despair. Seemingly friendless and loveless there had been nowhere for her to run to get away from the darkness. Nowhere but into Eriol's arms.

Suddenly she realized something. _'But when Eriol was turned against me... it didn't crush me completely. Somehow I believed that it wasn't real. I... believed that Eriol's love was real. That my love was real.'_

"Faith..." Sakura said quietly as she came to the answer. Eriol nodded beside her as though he had already figured it out himself. She smiled at him and he smiled back. Sakura reached out her left hand and he took it in his right. Together they faced towards the frozen card. Sakura's sealing circle appeared beneath her feet, followed shortly by Eriol's new sealing circle.

"Return, I understand the lesson I was meant to learn here... and I am ready to walk forward with the knowledge that as long as I believe in myself and Eriol that anything is possible and that no one can ever take this power away from me again." Sakura said as the words came to her mind. A soft pink light swirled outward from her circle and flowed upwards in the air between herself and the card.

"I too am ready to walk forward, I am ready to embrace my heart and understand that its power is unstoppable when combined with Sakura's. I am done pretending... and I am done being uncertain. I have faith that as long as I am with Sakura, there is no need to worry about anything else." Eriol added in the same tone of voice, squeezing Sakura's hand slightly as he finished. A soft blue light swirled upward from his circle and met Sakura's.

Their circles flashed brightly beneath their feet and the energies swirled together faster than they could see until the powers they had sent out formed into a solid being. She was a small sprite, about the size of The Sleep. Her eyes were pink and blue and her outfit was made of pink and blue cloud-like swirls that moved as she did. Her hair was pure white and hung from her head in two ponytails. She held a small wand that had wings sprouting outwards at the top.

She grinned at them as they stared at her, then waved her wand. The Hope floated upward from Sakura's right hand on it's own, the silver-haired maiden appearing next to the new card spirit. The Hope grinned at the young spirit and winked back at the two of them before both of the cards turned to face the immobile Return card. The card's spirit appeared immediately, smiling at the four of them in approval. The effects of time began to recede, the cards returning to their bindings, including The Faith, and Sakura and Eriol's spirits entered their bodies.

"RETURN!" Toro shouted, holding the card towards the unsuspecting trio.

Syaoran braced for the inevitable... and then nothing happened. He blinked in confusion for a moment, then realized that The Time had escaped from his pocket and had been floating beside him.

_'It... it acted without my guidance...'_ He realized. He looked around to see if he could figure out what must have happened while time had been stopped... to see The Return card flash pink and tear itself out of his enemy's hand. He followed its path to the girl near his feet... and realized she was slowly stirring.

_'She must have completed her mission...'_ Syaoran thought with relief. Toro yelled in frustration and conjured a heavy sword, dashing forward with the intent to kill written clearly on his features. Syaoran blasted an elemental attack at him, but it veered off course... something he attributed to the redheaded Rika who was lurking nearby and smirking at him.

He didn't have to worry about protecting Sakura, however; since as soon as Toro was in striking distance someone else had blocked his path.

Syaoran watched in astonishment as Eriol stood confidently in front of Sakura's waking body, wielding his usual long bladed katana.

Toro glared at him. "Move puppet, I command you!"

"Not anymore you don't. My heart has returned to me." Eriol replied coldly, lifting his sword slightly. Syaoran noticed the new winged hilt... what did it mean?

"Hmph! Then I shall tear it out of you again!" Toro grinned wildly, lifting his free hand. A strange colorless energy shot out from his palm towards Eriol, forming into the red bolt that had turned Eriol against Sakura during the play.

Eriol didn't bother to move, and as it entered his airspace it dissipated, seeming to meet an invisible barrier.

"What? How could you have deflected my emotion bolt?" Toro asked, surprised.

"He is not alone anymore." Sakura replied, finally getting to her feet. Syaoran glanced over at her and she smiled tiredly at him. He was relieved that she was alright... but his feelings of friendliness turned to dust when she moved to stand beside Eriol, staring down the enemy with a calm demeanor that he had never seen her display before.

Toro didn't miss the look of distaste on the brunet's face and smiled darkly to himself. "I see... well, it seems I have been defeated."

"You have. Now, if you wish to keep your life, you will leave this place and never return." Eriol warned gripping his katana just in case.

"Fine... I'll go... but I leave you with this to ponder. You may have saved your new boyfriend little girl... but what will you do with your old one?" Toro tilted his head, feigning curiosity.

Sakura summoned her star staff and The Shield just in time to stop a second emotion bolt from hitting Syaoran. Toro laughed at her efforts, "It doesn't matter either way, stupid girl... I can see it in his heart, he has already decided to betray you."

Furious, she swung her staff forward and her magical energy surged forward trapping Toro in a vortex. "I won't allow you to play with people's emotions any more!" she shouted.

After a few moments of Toro's cries, he vanished, sealed into card-form. Sakura then turned her staff on Rika, who held her hands up in surrender.

"And what about you?" Sakura demanded. "What was your part in all of this?"

Rika shrugged, "Mostly I just pretended to be the people you knew and made you think they'd turned against you."

Sakura studied the redhead. "If you promise to behave from now on, you don't have to end up like your friend."

Rika stared at the pink card floating in the air. Toro was sealed within by a great amount of magic... and in the art of the card itself he was surrounded in chains.

"Nah, if it hadn't been for him I wouldn't have even gotten this far." Rika admitted.

"Alright then." Sakura said, recalling her staff. Toro's card flew over to her and she pocketed it. Rika disappeared, and the three of them were left alone.

Relieved that it was over, Sakura turned around, a brilliant smile lighting up her face. "We did it you guys...!" her happiness was cut short when she saw that Syaoran had Eriol at sword-point.

Blinking in confusion, Sakura walked over to them. "Syaoran... what's going on?"

"Stay out of this Sakura... I don't want you to get hurt." he replied coldly. Eriol held his hands up in surrender.

"Draw your weapon." Syaoran ordered.

"Syaoran... really, have you learned nothing at all?" Eriol asked quietly.

Syaoran looked irritated a moment, then angry. "Draw your weapon." he repeated darkly.

Sakura walked forward in a flash of irritation, "Syaoran..." she was interrupted again, this time by his sword slicing through the air to point at her.

"Stay out of this." He said again, his brown eyes hard and unrelenting.

Growling, Eriol summoned his new staff into it's katana form. "How dare you threaten Sakura!"

Syaoran glanced back at his prey then dashed forward slashing outwards with his sword, Eriol defended himself from the attack and got ready to match blades with the chinese man.

Sakura folded her hands and drew her power to her. Her sealing circle appeared beneath her feet as the two of them fought. Maybe before she might have let them fight. She might have shivered in her own little corner while she waited breathlessly to find out who would win. But not now... not anymore. She was done being the weak one. She was done being afraid and clueless... she was done being the one having to watch while her two most favorite people in the world did everything in their power to kill each other.

Pulling out her star staff, she let the energy of her emotions swirl around her. _'Please stop this... I can't stand any more fighting.' _she thought to herself. She twirled her staff and pointed it towards the two engaged in battle. Her power flowed forward obediently, and before either one of them knew it, Syaoran was enclosed in The Shield's protective bubble.

Eriol withdrew his weapon immediately, glancing over at Sakura curiously as she approached them. Syaoran crashed his sword into the protective bubble a few times, adding a bit of elemental flair to no avail.

"Let me out!" Syaoran demanded. Sakura stared at him sadly, placing a hand on the barrier. Saying nothing, she closed her eyes and let the tears she'd been holding back slide down her cheeks. Syaoran's anger subsided at the sight of them.

"Sakura..."

"Why does it have to be this way?" She demanded, opening her eyes and staring at him from outside of the bubble.

Syaoran shrunk away from her... suddenly he felt like he was in elementary school all over again. Tears were streaming down the face of the woman that he loved... and he wanted nothing more than to comfort her and tell her it was going to be alright.

Eriol just stood back... Sakura didn't need his help for this.

"Tell me why!" Sakura shouted.

Syaoran stared at his feet. "If none of this had happened..."

"But it DID Syaoran!" Sakura interrupted.

He glanced up at her, looking hurt. "But... if I had known that it hadn't been you fighting me..."

"But it was me, Syaoran! At least a part of the time." Sakura reminded him.

"I can't just stand idly by and let this happen!" Syaoran shouted in frustration.

Sakura sighed, "It's too late to change it Syaoran. This is the way things are now."

"No! That isn't good enough!" Syaoran said, crossing his arms. "I wasn't lying when I told you I loved you all those years ago. I can't let this happen! Not without a fight!"

Sakura stepped away from the bubble and held her hands palms-up in a sign of surrender. "Syaoran... there is nothing you can do to change this. It isn't up to you to decide who I will and will not love. Fighting Eriol will accomplish nothing for you. Even if you won... I would only hate you for it. Is that what you want? For me to hate you?"

Syaoran stared at her, finally seeming to realize the rashness of his actions. "No, of course not... but I deserve a second chance. I loved you first!" he argued.

"And you broke my heart first." Sakura argued back, nonplussed.

"But that was an accident!" Syaoran insisted.

"And instead of facing it like a man you ran away from it." Eriol added at last, joining Sakura next to the bubble.

Syaoran glared at him.

"Eriol is right Syaoran. Maybe if you hadn't run away you would have been able to salvage the situation. I still loved you, you know, but you didn't really try to save us." Sakura pointed out.

Syaoran walked up to the barrier and sheathed his sword. "I never wanted this to happen."

"I know." Sakura replied, letting the barrier disappear.

Syaoran walked up to her slowly, his eyes locked on hers as they searched for something he had hoped was still there. "If I had been less... rash... I might have been able to stop this. Then again..." he leaned in to kiss her, but she placed her hands firmly against his chest to keep him from getting any closer.

He looked at her hands, wounded. So she was refusing him... he searched her eyes again but found nothing except her firm resolve.

"I'm sorry, I really am... but there is nothing any of us can do to change it, and like I said to Eriol before, there is no point in trying. I love him now, and you're just going to have to accept that. I don't expect you to like it, and I don't expect you to walk away from this without feeling as hurt and betrayed as I felt when you left for home." Sakura trailed quietly.

Syaoran flinched as she laid the facts out for him and realized at last that what she said was the truth.

"It... it will be a while before you hear from me again." Syaoran managed.

Sakura smiled sadly, "Things like this take time to heal... please take all the time you need."

Syaoran nodded slowly, then glanced at Eriol. It took all of his will power to keep his desire to rip the other man limb from limb in check. "You better be good to Sakura four-eyes." he snarled

Eriol nodded his agreement. "Of course..."

"Hmph." Syaoran snorted then stomped off in the direction of the airport.

They watched him go until he was out of sight, then Sakura turned to Eriol, taking in his regal appearance with a snicker. He glanced over at her curious, then followed her gaze. "You think the play kept going without us? Or is the audience still sitting in their seats waiting breathlessly for us to get back on stage?" Eriol grinned.

Sakura held her arm up in an invitation for him to link his own through it. "Why don't we find out?"

* * *

_"God give me courage to show you, you are not alone!" _Christine sang, Raoul watched, helpless as the woman he loved kissed the phantom. Their unspoken plan worked, however; when the phantom released the two of them and gave Christine one last longing glance before he disappeared from their lives forever.

* * *

The audience, as it turned out, had been frozen in time since not long after Sakura had run off stage and they had simply assumed the whole thing that had passed before was a part of the play. In spite of the fact that it didn't really make any sense for Raoul to spurn Christine the way Eriol had done, they ate it up anyways and gave the actors a standing ovation.

Sakura and Eriol stood at the front of the cast and took their bows, silently laughing in unison. There was some kind of strange irony in the fact that the play was about a woman that had to choose between two men that she loved... and that Sakura had basically just had to do the same thing.

Later on, Sakura had hugged every single one of her friends with relief when she discovered they were all talking to her again, and almost suffocated her brother when he asked her point-blank what the HELL was going on when she came home with Eriol in tow.

Everything was back to normal, mostly... and the only person who seemed to be upset about any of it was Tomoyo. (Who cried for about a week that she didn't get to film any part of Sakura/Eriol's whirlwind romance or Sakura's battle in the Christine costume, or - for that matter - get to make the costume in the first place.)

* * *

Years passed without a word from the Chinese brunet or any of his family members, which made Sakura sad... but they'd written hundreds of unanswered letters asking him about his welfare before they'd finally given up on ever seeing him again.

Finally, they stood before the altar and said their wedding vows, pledging the same undying devotion that they had promised each other that day when Sakura had decided to walk forward...

As they were opening the gifts, a young woman dressed in black approached them with a bouquet of roses and a greeting card.

There was no indication of who it was from, and the young woman didn't seem to know anything about them either.

Eriol opened the card and read it aloud to Sakura.

_"Congratulations. I hope this gift finds you well. You don't need to worry about me anymore... I've got plenty of things to take my mind off of what happened before. You won't be seeing me again, and I am sorry about that, but that's the way it has to be. Farewell."_

Sakura smiled then excused herself from the guests. Eriol watched her go for a moment, then glanced to the forest that surrounded his backyard. He saw a flash of brown for a moment and sighed. Shaking his head, he went to go comfort his new bride.

Syaoran watched them leave from his hiding place and smiled sadly. _'I'm sorry Sakura... I really am.'_ he thought to himself before he vanished completely into the trees without a whisper to suggest he was ever there.

* * *

**_The End_**

**Well, this was really fun. Thank you all for your reviews! ^_^ I love you all! *hands out hugs and cookies* :)**

_**~Rozu**_


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